


Samurai's Honor, Shinobi's Code

by Vanitas_Repliku_26



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe-Feudal Eos, Domesticated monsters, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Feudal Eos, I'll add more characters as I go through, I'm writing this by the seat of my pants ok, M/M, Prince!Prompto, Solheim (Final Fantasy XV), niflheim is a good guy in this, shinobi/samurai AU, so is Ardyn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:41:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 31,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21664648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanitas_Repliku_26/pseuds/Vanitas_Repliku_26
Summary: Samurai and shinobi had always been at odds, but when the Prince of Lucis is kidnapped Gladio and the shinobi assigned to protect Niflheim Prince Prompto join together to retrieve the samurai's lost charge. Along the way they may just get to know each other a bit better.I do not give my permission for this fic to be posted on Fanfic Pocket Library (Unofficial) or any other similar app.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia, Lunafreya Nox Fleuret/Nyx Ulric, Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 22
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jokul_Nightfury_Frost](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jokul_Nightfury_Frost/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update 8/12/20: Edited the chapter a bit. Will do the same for the next five before I update :)

The waves lapped against the boat’s polished Tenebraen oak hull.

Prompto stared at the water, mesmerized by how clear and blue it was. He could see his own reflection in its surface. Beneath the waves, colorful fish flicked out of the boat’s path, hiding amongst vibrant coral reef shelves.

The bright sun, unbidden by clouds, had caused a slight spattering of freckles to appear across his cheeks. Prompto hadn’t even known he _had_ freckles.

The weather in Niflheim was cold and always overcast with either freezing wind or snow falling, the sun couldn’t penetrate the cloud cover, making the place constantly gloomy. Perhaps that was why he hadn’t known; the freckles were only visible in the sunlight.

Prompto grinned at his reflection, turning his head side to side as he admired himself. He was quite handsome if he said so. His golden hair stuck up in a style that was fondly reminiscent of chocobo feathers and upon seeing a chocobo in a book, Prompto could see why some called him Prince Chocobo.

Chocobo couldn’t withstand the temperatures of Niflheim so Prompto had never seen one in person. He hoped to change that with his trip. From his studies, he had learned chocobo common in Lucis, used as one of many modes of transportation to reach distant towns.

Wearing his best royal garb, a white robe decorated with gold and red trimmings complete with the crest of Niflheim, Shiva’s Frost, Prompto hoped he gave off the air of royalty.

This trip to Lucis was important. Extremely important. A cold war between Niflheim and Lucis had been ongoing for ten years and Prompto hoped to finally break the ice between the two nations. To be the first Niflheim heir, and the youngest, to end the tensions between his country and Lucis.

It had taken a bit of persuasion to even be considered to go. His father had insisted he go, being the King, but a few days ago had fallen ill. With Lucis expecting Niflheim’s ruler to show in order to discuss negotiations of trade and a treaty, Prompto had been the next best. Next in line for the throne, the twenty-year-old hoped to live up to his father’s expectations as well as his people’s hopes. With little time to prepare, a hasty messenger daggerquill had been sent out shortly before Prompto had boarded the boat bound for Lucis.

Prompto gripped the railing tighter then glanced to his right where Ignis stood silently, gazing out towards the horizon.

Ignis was Prompto’s shinobi, a trained assassin that would protect the prince no matter what, even to his own demise. He had been Prompto’s shinobi since Prompto had been five and Prompto had been startled when Ignis had matter-of-factly told him exactly what Shinobi did. It hadn’t seemed fair when he was that age: a stranger willing to give up his own life to protect Prompto’s life.

Four years older than Prompto, the shinobi didn’t reveal much about himself or his past and Prompto didn’t pry. The first time he had asked where Ignis had come from, the blond had gotten a sharp glare from Ignis only after the pain had disappeared from his eyes.

Wearing a dark brown jacket and trousers with a tan belt around his waist to secure the jacket, Ignis didn’t appear to be a shinobi who typically wore kimono. The clothes were clean and neat, a thin mesh of chainmail hidden between the jacket and a black sleeveless shirt. His white socks rarely seemed to get dirty, even when trampling through mud or slushy snow.

Knowing him all his life, Prompto understood that was just the kind of man Ignis was.

Soft-spoken and impeccably groomed.

Even his hair, sandy blond and gelled upwards like a crest using the oil of a Gigantoad, remained clean.

Ignis was really amazing. His fighting skill even more so. At his left side was a sheathed katana named Senshi. The sheath was made from the wood of a Galahdian hardwood tree and enclosed in the tanned skin of a Sahagin which was dyed black using powdered blackstone. A thin piece of metal wrapped around the top of the sheath was stamped with the crest of Niflheim’s king. Made specifically for him, the blade contained within the sheath could separate into multiple segments, held together by strong, corded wire, to strike far away enemies. A weapon as versatile as its master.

Prompto knew Ignis also had small knives lining his arms and he wielded the ability of magic, a rare phenomenon not everyone could master. Prompto had never seen Ignis use his magic, though, and Ignis had explained that using the magic made him tired.

He wondered how Ignis was faring with the boat ride. Neither of them had ever been on a boat and Ignis had been silent the entire ride which had been over two weeks ago.

As Prompto watched, he could see Ignis shifting his weight a small amount to counteract the boat’s rocking.

Prompto imagined being on something that moved made Ignis feel uneasy, judging by how he had a hand set on the hilt of Senshi. Or, as usual, he was always on alert for a potential threat.

“Hey, Igs!”

Ignis’s verdant eyes slid over to Prompto before the shinobi turned to face him, giving a low bow. “Yes, my lord?”

“Oh, come on, how many times do I have to tell you?” Prompto huffed as he crossed his arms, frowning at Ignis even though it looked more like pouting. “You don’t need to bow to me or go on about all that ‘my lord’ stuff. We’re friends!”

“I’m afraid I must refute your claim,” Ignis murmured as he stared at Prompto impassively. “We are not friends. You are my lord and I am your retainer. I am to serve you and protect you at the cost of my life.”

Prompto groaned, rubbing the back of his neck as he closed an eye. Same old answer. “Yeah, well….at least call me Prompto, okay?”

“Of course, my lord.”

Prompto let that one slide. A coeurl couldn’t change its spots, after all. It would take a while for Ignis to become used to the change.

Instead, Prompto swung his arms out wide to show what was around them. “Anyway, isn’t this awesome?! The ocean, Igs. The _ocean_!”

Ignis inclined his head in agreement, a faint hum coming from his throat. “Yes. I agree that this is quite….awesome.”

Prompto gave a huge grin at the informal word coming from Ignis’s mouth.

Ignis gazed back out at the ocean, the breeze ruffling his hair and the scent of salt settling on his tongue.

The ocean….was nice. He liked it better than the biting cold of Shiva’s region.

Prompto wondered how long it was until they reached the port village of Galdin Quay, but as he was about to go ask the boat’s captain, he saw the village beginning to bloom in the distance.

Running to the bow of the boat, ignoring Ignis’s call of “My lord, be careful!”, Prompto grabbed the railing and leaned over the edge to get a closer look.

Galdin Quay was a small fishing village known for its local seafood cuisine and white sandy beaches. A large hut was off to the side of the wooden dock, a gathering place for people to eat and learn about the village.

“Galdin Quay,” the captain muttered as the boat scraped against the side of the dock. “Here’s your stop, gentlemen.”

“Thank you for the passage,” Ignis said, dropping a few gold coins into the captain’s hand. “Come along, my lord.”

Ignis picked up a sizable bag that contained everything they needed for their nearly week long trip to Lucis’s capital city. Prompto had made fun of it at first, jokingly asking what was in the bag. Ignis had matter-of-factly told him that inside the bag was everything they would require; tents to sleep in, bowls and utensils and pots for fireside cooking, extra clothes and some non-perishable food. Prompto hadn’t asked about the bag since.

Prompto was already off the boat as Ignis paid the captain and grabbed their supply bag, looking around the village in awe.

As Ignis approached him, Prompto ran off ahead to see what there was.

“My lord, don’t run off without me!” Ignis called, chasing after the young prince, the bag slung over his shoulders not seeming to weigh him down at all.

A few people stared at the strange duo, but upon seeing the weapon strapped to Ignis, began to mind their own business. Strangers with weapons usually meant nothing good and they didn’t want to be caught up into something sordid.

Prompto didn’t get too far, halting when he saw a colorful cat curled up along the edge of the dock. With a small squeal, he knelt down and held out his hand, clicking his tongue. “Here, kitty, kitty. Here, kitty. Come here, kitty, kitty.”

The cat lifted its head with a purr then stood up, arching its back to stretch, before meandering over to Prompto with the tip of its tail cocked. It sniffed his fingers then bumped its head into his hand.

Prompto melted as the cat allowed him to stroke its soft fur.

Ignis stood impassively nearby, allowing the prince to pet the animal.

Cats and dogs weren’t able to survive the harsh winters that Niflheim provided, so pets in the castle hadn’t been a prospect.

After a few more minutes, Ignis cleared his throat. “My lord, we should get going, the trip to the capital will be around a five-day Chocobo ride. If we are to arrive on our scheduled time, we need to move on.”

Prompto sighed as he nodded. He understood that they had to keep moving. The king of Lucis was expecting them and he wanted to make a good impression. That meant being on time.

Giving the cat one last pat and a “be good, kitty”, Prompto stood and followed Ignis over to an off to the side of the docks. The area had a caravan parked nearby that had a pile of different weapons within it to sell to travelers and a small chocobo rental pen. Four yellow chocobo stood in their stalls, already saddled and ready to ride.

While Ignis went to speak with the chocobo’s caretaker, Prompto approached one of the large birds.

He patted its fluffy neck and gave an excited squeal when it squawked at the petting then lowered its long neck to wrap around him. Prompto draped his arms around the chocobo’s neck, squeezing it.

“Look, Iggy, look, it likes me!”

Ignis glanced in Prompto’s direction and gave a brief nod before returning to his conversation with the chocobo renter.

For five days, the cost would be 500 gil which was affordable in Ignis’s eyes.

Dropping the coins in the man’s hand, Ignis walked over to Prompto, opening the stall where the chocobo he was hugging stood. Ignis opened another beside it, pulling the reins to lure the chocobo out.

Prompto watched Ignis then grabbed the reins of the chocobo that liked him, pulling it from its stall.

After strapping the bag to the chocobo’s saddle, Ignis climbed up into the saddle himself, glancing over at Prompto who was struggling to imitate the shinobi’s grace.

As Ignis was about to slide down to help Prompto, the blond finally managed to get into the seat, puffing himself up with pride.

The chocobo renter approached Ignis with a small bag. “Here ya go, man. A bag of gyshal greens for your mounts and a map of Lucis.”

Ignis took the bag, tying it to his belt since it wasn’t too large or heavy, and nodded. “Thank you.”

Before they left, Ignis opened the map which was hand drawn with every village and town marked on it as well as notable places.

The fastest route to Insomnia, the capital city of Lucis, would take them up to Longwythe Peak and to the small town of Hammerhead. A checkpoint just before the massive bridge leading to Insomnia was near Ostium Gorge.

Satisfied with the basic route plotted out, Ignis nodded and carefully folded the map, sliding it into his jacket.

Kicking the chocobo sent it into an easy trot, Ignis steering it toward the dirt road that split into different paths. He took the one on the right.

Beside him, Prompto was gazing at the passing landscape in awe, a huge grin on his face.

All of this was a new experience for him and he was enjoying every minute of it.

* * *

By sunset, they had come across their first haven, Vernaugh Haven.

Havens were huge, flat-topped rocks imbued with magical properties to keep away monsters, allowing travelers to rest in peace without concern of attacks through the night.

While Prompto fed the chocobos some greens, Ignis began to set up their tents and create a makeshift fire. Once he had hung up a pot over the flames to heat up, Ignis left the haven to gather some ingredients from nearby.

While he had some cured meats that would last them the trip, he knew the lands of Lucis provided wild spices and vegetables that he could add into a dish. He didn’t linger too long in his search, ears pricking at the rustling bushes and distant screeches and cries of something lurking in the darkness, returning to the haven with some rice, wheat, and sweet potatoes.

Prompto was already snoozing as he waited for the food to be cooked, leaning against his chocobo. The chocobo had its head resting in the blond’s lap.

Ignis smiled at the blond fondly and allowed him the small nap, setting to work on making some chicken and rice risotto. He already planned on making some warm chiffon cake for dessert.

Creating recipes and cooking was one of Ignis’s favorite pastimes, a thing he rarely indulged in. His job allowed little room for coking and relaxing so being able to cook allowed Ignis’s mind to unwind and drift into a place that didn’t involve being hypervigilant on Prompto’s wellbeing.

As he began to serve the cooked food on the metal plates he had brought with them, Prompto began to stir at the smell of food.

“Is dinner ready already?” he asked, stretching his arms above his head with a grunt.

The chocobo gave a sleepy squawk as Prompto shifted, moving its head to the ground to resume sleeping.

“Yes,” Ignis murmured, handing one of the plates to Prompto before sitting beside the blond with his own plate.

As Prompto dug into the warm food, he glanced at Ignis out of the corner of his eye, noticing that the shinobi’s sword lay by his side.

It was a sign that Ignis was relaxed and didn’t expect any trouble.

With a smile, Prompto shoved another spoonful of soft rice into his mouth. He hoped the entire trip to Insomnia was like this.

Getting to see the land and eating Ignis’s wonderful cooking.

* * *

By day three, a half day’s ride from Hammerhead, they ran into their first problem. It was too dangerous to sleep out in the open or even in a cave, so Ignis kept them going until they could reach the next haven listed on the map.

Close to Emelle Haven, the sun’s light fading faster than Ignis had anticipated, a daemon had suddenly appeared in the middle of the road, the summoning symbol beneath it disappearing a soon as it emerged.

The daemon wore similar clothes to Ignis, wielding a wicked katana in its hand, a straw hat covering its face.

Ignis recognized it quickly as a Yojimbo, a monster that resulted from a restless spirit attaching itself to a body that died tragically, typically a shinobi.

“Stay back!” Ignis ordered Prompto, already leaping off his chocobo to engage the daemon.

Prompto nodded, looking concerned as he pulled his chocobo back a few feet. He knew little about Daemons, but knew that they had to be summoned by a sorcerer. A cursory glance around revealed no movement in the trees nearby.

Ignis withdrew Senshi from its sheath with a sharp ringing noise. He and the Yojimbo circled each other, blades raised.

Ignis didn’t know who had summoned the daemon, but now he was concerned that the agreement to the treaty had been a trick to get the Emperor of Niflheim vulnerable and easily killed. Ignis didn’t know whether Lucis had any sorcerers amongst their mostly samurai ranks or whether they had a sorcerer strong enough to summon the dead.

He would figure that out later. His first priority was the Yojimbo.

It was the Yojimbo that lunged first and Ignis met it in the middle, their blades biting each other, sparks flying.

After a few strikes, Ignis managed to break the Yojimbo’s guard, taking advantage to run his sword through its shoulder.

The blow wasn’t deadly. It took multiple strikes to kill a daemon, even if one aimed for the heart.

The Yojimbo gave an eerie screech at the pain, swiping out with its sword which Ignis ducked under to avoid.

Pulling the sword out and avoiding the black blood that sprayed from the wound, Ignis distanced himself from the daemon. Even from the distance, he could smell the rot that the blood emanated as it sunk into the dirt.

Flipping his sword to the side, Ignis flicked it once to segment it then swung out, the multiple sections racing toward the Yojimbo.

The Yojimbo held up its sword diagonally in front of it, Ignis’s sword wrapping around the blade with a screech. It began to yank back, trying to disarm the shinobi.

Ignis pulled back as well, counteracting the daemon’s attempt.

The Yojimbo was powered by the dark magic that had brought it back to life and its strength was powerful enough to cause Ignis to slide forward.

Briefly, the daemon loosened its grip on its sword, Senshi’s segments slackening, before it yanked back with inhuman strength.

The force staggered Ignis and he stumbled, releasing his hold on his weapon to avoid being thrown off his feet.

The Yojimbo flicked its sword to the side, discarding Senshi in the grass nearby, and charged towards Prompto.

Prompto froze at the daemon running towards him, gripping the chocobo’s reins tighter.

The chocobo stood its ground, fluffing up its feathers as it reared its neck back in challenge. It was ready to kick and bite the daemon once it came close enough.

“My lord!” Ignis called, instantly leaping between the chocobo that held Prompto and the charging Yojimbo. He held his hands up in front of him. “The flames that wreath your mighty crown are a sign of your might. Allow me to borrow some of your flames to protect those dear to me. Ifrit, lend me the wrath of your fire!”

Blue-tinged flames erupted from the tips of Ignis’s fingers, launching toward the Yojimbo and engulfing it.

The daemon shrieked at the flames devouring it, futilely swiping at them with its sword.

Ignis kept the flames going until the shrieking died down and the Yojimbo vanished in a cloud of dark purple dust. Only then did the flames cease, crackling until they extinguished themselves, and Ignis lowered his hands.

The exhaustion was swift to sweep over him and blanket his bones, forcing him to one knee. A faint sheen of sweat coated the back of his neck, chilling his skin in the night air.

“Ignis!” Prompto slid down from his chocobo and knelt beside the shinobi, setting a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m fine,” Ignis murmured, keeping his voice steady. He wasn’t supposed to show weakness in front of his charge, but he had to do _anything_ to protect Prompto’s life.

Prompto bit back the answer he was about to say, standing instead and going to retrieve Senshi from where it lay.

A twist to the side and the segments retracted back into blade form.

Prompto returned to Ignis who was slowly getting to his feet.

Ignis took the offered blade, inclining his head with a soft “Thank you, my lord.”

Sliding the blade’s edge against the top of the sheath, Ignis slid it into the holder where it clicked once the handle met the sheath’s lip.

Prompto watched as Ignis went to retrieve his chocobo which had run a few feet away to avoid the battle. Now Prompto knew how Ignis had earned the moniker Graceful Belladonna.

He was as beautiful as he was deadly. A sharp wit matched only by a sharper sword.

Ignis nodded to Prompto was he returned with his mount, his exhaustion just barely hidden by his neutral gaze.

Prompto went to get his chocobo so they could continue to Hammerhead.

* * *

The outer edges of Hammerhead were marked with magical barriers, creating a sort of haven that prevented monsters from harassing travelers. A long, low building was nearly the only thing there and it offered supplies for those who passed through either to or from Insomnia. A smaller building set off to the side was a blacksmithing shop. They repaired weapons and armor and sold their own armaments.

“I’ll be back,” Ignis said as he got down from his chocobo, fastening the reins to a nearby post. “Don’t wander off too far, my lord.”

Prompto smiled and nodded, watching Ignis enter the merchant building. He got off his chocobo, tying it beside the other chocobo, then began to make his way towards the blacksmith’s building.

Peeking in the doorway, he saw a lit furnace and a low table used to meld and shape weapons. The shop appeared to be empty at the moment.

Curious, Prompto entered the building and gazed around, his eyes going to the many weapons lining one side of the wall. He could see swords, spears, broadswords, and even a wicked looking mace on the end of a chain.

Something smaller caught his eye and without much thought he pulled it from the rack to inspect it. It had a small handle covered by what felt like polished wood with a barrel.

He looked into the barrel to see what was inside.

“Careful or you’ll shoot yer eye out, kiddo.”

At the voice, Prompto squeaked, fumbling with the item so he wouldn’t drop it. He shoved it back on its rack, facing the voice as he put his hands behind his back, face burning at being caught snooping.

At the doorway to a back room stood an older male with short gray hair. He wore a thick apron made of leather to protect him from the sparks and heat that his job offered.

“I-I’m sorry!” Prompto squeaked, giving a hasty bow. “I was just curious! I didn’t mean to offend.”

The man waved a hand as he shuffled towards Prompto.

Prompto moved to the side and the man picked up the strange weapon.

“This is what the Sols call a ‘gun’. It spits fire and metal that can break swords.”

Prompto gasped at the description, staring at the small gun. It didn’t look like it had the power to do such a thing. “How? How can it do that?”

“Don’t know. I’m still tinkering on it. All I know is that it uses the same powder that creates fireworks.” The man set the gun back on the shelf before facing Prompto and sticking his hand out. “Name’s Cid and this here is my blacksmithing shop.”

“Prompto. My name is Prompto.” Prompto shook Cid’s hand.

Cid eyed his clothes, giving a slight grunt. “Nif, huh? never thought I’d see one of you in Lucis.”

“I’m here to speak with King Regis. My father is the Niflheim Emperor.”

“A prince, eh? I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.” Cid shook his head as he went closer to the lit furnace, picking up a poker to prod at the burning wood.

“My lord,” Ignis said, coming into the shop. “We need to get moving.”

“And a shinobi!” Cid exclaimed, waving his poker with a grin. “Never thought I’d see one of you in the land of the samurai.”

Ignis spared the man a cursory glance then bowed. “Thank you for keeping my charge out of trouble. We must be moving on, however.”

“If your sword ever needs a tune-up, come on back here!” Cid called as Prompto and Ignis left.

“So, what did you get at the merchant?” Prompt asked as he watched Ignis tie the new bag onto the chocobo’s side.

“Medicinal herbs and some fresh fruit as well as some Galahd coffee beans that I wish to try.”

Coffee was a rare import for Niflheim and apparently a common one for Lucis.

Prompto knew that Ignis liked coffee and with it being infrequent in Niflheim he was certain the shinobi was excited to be able to have some on their trip.

He resisted smiling as they set their chocobos into motion continuing to the first checkpoint before Insomnia.

* * *

Prompto gaped at the long bridge that connected Insomnia with the rest of Lucis.

It was definitely a feat of engineering. Made from brick and lined with cobblestone, the bridge led from the first checkpoint to the gates just before the city, spanning over a vast lake that separated the town from the rest of the continent.

If the bridge was amazing, Prompto wondered how the rest of Insomnia looked. Even Ignis seemed impressed by the bridge.

“This must have taken decades to build,” the shinobi muttered, glancing up at the lights that lined either side of the bridge.

“I can’t wait to tell father about all of this,” Prompto said with an excited grin. “He’ll be so jealous.”

“Well, should this go well, I’m sure your father would love to visit when time allows.”

Prompto hoped it would all go well. His father was sure to be impressed by Lucis just as much as they were.

As they approached the vast metal gates that blocked Insomnia from view, Ignis slid from his chocobo.

Two guards on either side of the door were quick to approach the duo.

“Identification,” one growled, spear held tighter at his side.

The guards wore heavy armor of black and blue, the crest of Bahamut emblazoned on their chest plates. At their sides were sheathed swords, back up weapons.

 _Kingsglaive,_ Ignis’s mind supplied.

Expert samurai charged with guarding the king. Their skills in combat were said to be unmatched.

Just as Ignis was about to tell the two who they were in the presence of, Prompto touched the shinobi’s arm. Ignis flicked his gaze at the blond then stepped to the side, head lowered respectfully.

“My name is Prompto Argentum Aldercapt, son of Emperor Iedolas Aldercapt, the ruler of Niflheim. The king of Lucis is expecting us.”

The two guards glanced at each other before they scowled at Prompto.

“No one told us a Nif was coming here with a shinobi rat.”

“Why don’t you two move along and try to trick someone more gullible?”

Ignis grabbed the handle of Senshi, about to withdraw his weapon when Prompto held up a hand to stop him.

Starting a fight wouldn’t help their case. It would probably worsen the situation and it was something they couldn’t afford right then.

“If you could summon someone from the king’s council, I’m sure that they’ll know we’re being expected,” Prompto assured. “We have traveled long and far to meet with the king.”

One of the guards snorted, raising their spear higher. “How about you listen to your elders?”

“What is going on here?” a voice asked.

The two guards reacted instantaneously, straightening as the butt of their spears struck the ground.

From the doors, a middle-aged man with silver hair shorn short and blue eyes appeared. He wore the robes of a high council member, black and gold, the crest of Bahamut on his breast pocket.

“Councilman Amicitia!” one guard said. “These two claim to be here to see the king!”

“He says he’s the Nif prince and that’s his shinobi.”

The councilman raised an eyebrow then glanced at the two, eyes flicking up and down to quickly appraise them.

Ignis could see the heavy broadsword strapped across the councilman’s back, giving the appearance that the man was not _just_ part of the king’s council. It was possible he was part of the Kingsglaive as well.

The councilman sighed, shaking his head before turning on the two guards. “You idiots. Look at his clothes! They’re the royal colors of Niflheim! This man is indeed the prince of Niflheim and the king has been awaiting his arrival. Now open the gates!”

“Yes, sir!” the two guards saluted then scrambled to opposite sides, opening the gates.

As the doors slowly creaked open, Amicitia turned back to Ignis and Prompto, lowering himself in a bow. “I apologize for them. Please, come in. We welcome you to the great city of Insomnia.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey it's been a week all right? I got it up in time  
> I could have gotten up it yesterday but I didn't feel like it :P  
> Anyway, enjoy

After releasing the chocobos to run back to Galdin Quay, Prompto and Ignis followed Amicitia into the interior of Insomnia.

Insomnia was massive. It was larger than Gralea, the capital city of Niflheim. It was possible Gralea could fit snugly in the center of the massive city. Prompto imagined that twenty Gralea cities could fit into Insomnia. He wondered how no one got lost.

The cobblestone street was inlaid with tiles that bore the crest of Bahamut. Gas lamps lined the walkways.

Amicitia led Ignis and Prompto through the market district if the rows of food stalls were any indication. The different smells of food wafted through the air, permeating it.

The citadel where the king resided was easily spotted at the city’s heart, looming over the other buildings.

Trotting down the streets were a few Kingsglaive atop mesmenir, horse-like monsters with rough skin and long, jagged horn jutting from its nose. Normally mesmenir’s horns curved up and above its head, but the domesticated Mesmenir had their horns kept short to keep their riders safe from injury. Even the spikes protruding from its shoulders and the backs of its legs were cut short. The mesmenir’s split hooves truck against the stone with every hoof step.

“This is our market,” Amicitia explained. “We sell a lot of food here. If you wish to try something?”

Prompto gasped at the permission, looking at Ignis excitedly.

Ignis couldn’t say no to the blond’s perfected look that reminded him of a kicked puppy or a baby chocobo with its wide, adorable eyes.

When he got a nod, Prompto began to flit from stall to stall, peeking in to see what food resided there.

Ignis and Amicitia waited for Prompto to take his pick.

As he waited, Ignis continued to gaze around, taking in the sights that Insomnia offered, almost too much to handle.

A noise caught Ignis’s attention and he glanced up, eyebrows raising when he saw carts held up by strong cables of wire gliding above his head.

Amicitia noticed Ignis’s gaze and chuckled. “Cable cars. Lestallum helped us build them for easier transportation around the city since not many people can afford chocobos or mesmenir rides.”

“They’re….amazing,” Ignis murmured, awed by the engineering that surrounded Insomnia.

Insomnia was like a dream city. Gralea couldn’t hold a candle to it.

“Iggy!”

Ignis glance towards Prompto as the prince ran over to him, carrying two sticks pierced with roasted meat in his hands.

Prompto handed one to Ignis with a huge grin. “It’s a basilisk meat skewer!”

Ignis slowly took the offered meat stick inspecting it before taking a bite of one of the meat cubes.

It was tender and smoky, but slightly greasy. Spices were mixed into the meat, not too overpowering but not as tasty as Ignis imagined it could be.

As they continued on their way to the citadel, Ignis’s mind was already calculating how to make the meat skewer taste better and less greasy.

Stairs led up to the citadel’s entrance, the center of the stair’s decorated with red stones.

At the top of the stairs stood three people.

Ignis immediately recognized King Regis by his dark robes, the edges bordered in gold. The shoulders of the robes were draped in regalements and front of it was imprinted with the Bahamut crest. Regis’s hair and beard were graying at the edges, revealing his age, and he leaned on a wooden cane. The golden crown with long, curved points imbedded in his hair stood out against the gray and black.

Ignis knew that the very first _actual_ war that had ignited between Niflheim and Lucis was the war Regis personally fought in. As a result, he had obtained an injury to his knee, forcing him to walk with a cane.

Beside Regis stood a boy around Prompto’s age with dark hair and deep blue eyes. He wore dark robes as well, the crest of Bahamut the only thing giving him away as royalty.

 _Noctis,_ Ignis thought. He had heard vaguely of Regis’s son, the next prince of Lucis.

Noctis mostly stayed out of the limelight and even his clothing made him look dull as if to detract attention away from him. Noctis appeared bored, arms crossed as he stared up at the sky.

The man on Noctis’s left side was a head taller than the prince with a board chest and thick arms. His brown hair went to the nape of his neck and a single, vertical scar ran down his left eye. He simply wore dark trousers and a lightweight chest plate. Peeking from beneath the chest plate was some sort of tattoo sliding down both arms. A huge, double sided claymore was strapped to the man’s back.

Ignis recognized the male as a Kingsglaive, possibly one assigned to Noctis.

As they drew closer to the king, Amicitia bowed before kneeling to one knee, fist against his chest. “King Regis, the prince of Niflheim and his shinobi have finally arrived.”

Regis smiled fondly, raising his hand to signal that Amicitia could stand. “Thank you, Clarus.”

Clarus nodded and stood up, moving to stand on Regis’s other side.

Regis turned his attention to Prompto and Ignis. “Welcome to Insomnia, Prince Prompto and shinobi Ignis. We have been awaiting your arrival.”

“I’m sorry my father couldn’t be here,” Prompto said, giving a bow. “He sends his regards and apologies.”

“It’s quite all right,” Regis said, raising a hand to show Prompto he didn’t need to be so formal. “You’ve met my samurai, Clarus. This is my son, Noctis.”

Noctis lifted a hand in greeting, expression aloof.

“And his samurai, Gladiolus, who also happens to be Clarus’s son.”

Gladiolus didn’t respond. He only crossed his arms, staring at the two stonily.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Prompto said with a smile. “We’re proud to be in your amazing city.”

“Come inside, please,” Regis murmured, sweeping a hand toward the citadel before turning and beginning to walk towards it.

Prompto followed with Ignis beside him.

Noctis fell into step beside Prompto with Gladiolus on his other side. “Hey.”

Prompto grinned. “Hey. Insomnia is so cool, huh?”

Noctis appeared amused, mouth quirking a bit as he tilted his head. “I know. I live here?”

“Oh. Right!” Prompto laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry. I’m pretty excited.”

“You make it sound like you’ve never left the castle.”

“I haven’t.”

Noctis faltered in his steps, eyes widening, before he caught up to Prompto. “What, seriously?”

Prompto thought about it with a hum, crossing his arms. The sleeves of his robe slid up, revealing dual gold bands encircling his wrists. “Well, except for the festivals.”

“That won’t do.” Noctis clicked his tongue, shaking his head. “I’ll give you the grand tour of Insomnia tomorrow. How does that sound?”

Prompto gasped, bouncing a bit as he walked. “Really?”

“Yeah. You’re staying for a while, right?”

Prompto looked at Ignis eagerly, clasping his hands together.

Ignis gave a mild nod. “I see no reason why we cannot sightsee during our stay here.”

“It’s a date then!” Prompto said before he rubbed his neck as he realized what he had said. “I mean, not a _date_ date, just a—”

“I get it.” Noctis elbowed Prompto in the ribs. “And don’t act so princely around me. We’re the same age.”

Prompto grinned, elbowing Noctis back.

This caused an elbow contest between the two, the two laughing quietly.

Gladiolus appeared accustomed to Noctis’s behavior, rolling his eyes with a quiet grunt.

Ignis smiled slightly, pleased to see Prompto making fast friends.

The banquet hall that they came into contained an enormous table laden with plates and bowls of various meals, the entire room filled with the scent of roasted meats and vegetables along with sweets.

Regis took his seat at the head of the table with Noctis sitting on the right-hand side of his father.

At Regis’s gesture, Prompto took the seat on Regis’s left side.

Clarus stood behind Regis while Gladiolus was behind Noctis.

Ignis, directly behind Prompto, quietly appraised the food laying on the table. His hands itched to write down recipes in the small notebook he carried around with him, but he resisted. He had a sharp mind and would remember whatever recipe came to mind.

Noctis looked at Gladiolus over the back of his chair. “Seriously, man. Come sit down.”

Gladiolus rolled his eyes at the statement before sitting in the chair beside Noctis.

Prompto turned towards Ignis, opening his mouth.

“Don’t even think about it, Your Highness.”

Prompto pouted at Ignis’s words. “You don’t even know what I was going to ask!”

“You were about to ask that I seat myself beside you. I respectfully refuse your offer.”

“Aren’t you hungry, Iggy?” Prompto asked, tilting his head.

“I’ll eat later.”

Prompto stared at Ignis intently before he widened them into a powerful pout, tears appearing at the corners of his eyes.

Ignis internally sighed at the tactic, flicking his gaze over towards Noctis and Gladiolus.

Gladiolus appeared smug while Noctis appeared busy piling his plate with food.

Sliding Senshi out from his belt, Ignis settled into the chair beside Prompto, laying the sword across his lap.

Prompto grinned as his sahagin tears worked, beginning to fill his plate with food.

Once everyone had a full plate, Regis cleared his throat, looking at Prompto as he folded his hands on the table.

“I understand your father wished to outline a treaty and trade prospects.”

Prompto nodded rapidly. “Yes. He feels this cold war has gone on long enough and wishes to extend his hand in friendship.”

Gladiolus covered his snort with a cough.

Clarus shot him a sharp look from where he stood. The look was enough to effectively cow Gladiolus into silence.

Ignis imagined that Gladiolus wasn’t easy to convince on the truthfulness that Niflheim offered. If he were in their shoes, he probably wouldn’t be too trusting either.

“I see,” Regis murmured. “I agree that this cold war between our two nations has lasted for far too long. What trade items would your country be willing to part with?”

It took time for Prompto to answer the question as he thought about it. He hadn’t asked Iedolas beforehand if there were specifics that were to be offered to the table which had been a mistake. Iedolas hadn’t told him what Niflheim was willing to part with and since he hadn’t told Prompto about what he had already drafted out before falling ill, Prompto imagined it was a test to see how well he did at diplomacy all on his own.

After a bit of thinking, Prompto slowly said, “Well, we can offer you heavy stock to help till your lands. Our wintercoat dualhorn and snow garula are strong enough to pull plows. And, if you get cold winters, their fur can be spun into wool to make warm garments.”

Regis nodded, listening to Prompto’s proposition as he folded his hands on the table.

“And we make weapons, too. Modified weapons.”

“What are you talking about?” Noctis asked. “What sort of modified weapons?”

Prompto nudged Ignis. “Show them.”

With a nod, Ignis stood up and moved a few feet from the table so everyone could see him. He quietly unsheathed Senshi.

“Senshi is made from the finest steel Niflheim can afford,” Prompto explained as Ignis held up the sword. “It’s strong enough that it won’t break even if an iron giant grabs it. Also, it can segment into parts to reach distant enemies.”

With a flick of his wrist, Ignis separated Senshi to show the others, the segments clinking as they dropped to the ground.

Regis seemed impressed, giving an interested hum.

“We can modify swords and lances. Even bows and arrows.”

Ignis replaced Senshi to its sword form, sheathing the weapon then returning to his seat.

“We also have the finest, high quality crystal.”

“Yes. I’ve heard of your crystal mines,” Regis said. “They’re said to be something breathtaking.”

Prompto nodded quickly, reminding himself to breathe so he wouldn’t hold his breath in anticipation of Regis’s decision on his trade suggestions.

“Those are all interesting commodities, Prince Prompto. In exchange for those we can give Niflheim our most purified mythril to inlay your weapons and strengthen them further. We also have rare fish not found anywhere else. I understand you are limited in vegetables and fruits given the harshness of your lands.”

“Yes,” Prompto said with a nod. “We usually only have spiced meats and fish from frozen lakes.”

“Then we can offer that for more variety. As well as our armor. It’s made from the finest steel and imbued with mythril, creating an almost impenetrable defense.”

Prompto knew shinobi didn’t use as much armor as samurai did, but the armor would be an excellent addition should they need it.

“That sounds excellent, Your Majesty,” Prompto murmured, inclining his head. “Your imports to our land will help us greatly.”

“Then if we’re both satisfied, we have an accord. Tomorrow, we will write the treaty and sign it.” Regis smiled. “You’re a pleasant young man, Prince Prompto. Your father is lucky to have you as his heir.”

Prompto blushed at the praise, ducking his head with a mumbled, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Well, then.” Regis clapped his hands. “Shall we eat to our newfound treaty?”

* * *

After dinner, Noctis was eager to show Prompto his personal chocobo pen. Leading the blond by the wrist, Noctis pulled Prompto towards the stables. Ignis and Gladiolus followed at a slower pace, keeping eyes on their charges.

Ignis glanced at Gladiolus out of the corner of his eye. “I take it from the dirty looks you’ve been throwing my way all evening you don’t care much for shinobi.”

“I do not,” Gladiolus rumbled, crossing his muscular arms across his chest. “You lurk in the shadows, taking out your enemies through cowardly means rather than facing them head on. You shinobi are just dastards.”

Ignis’s gaze narrowed, eyes turning sharp as steel. He bit back the retort he had in mind, choosing instead to say, “I suggest you grow accustomed to my presence, samurai. My lord and I will be in your fine country for a week.”

“Not going to happen.”

Ignis dropped the subject, turning his gaze back towards Prompto.

If Gladiolus wanted to be as stubborn as a behemoth, let him. At least Ignis was trying to retain some manners.

The stables not only held four chocobo, one being a rare black one, but it also had several mesmenir and spiracorn loaded into stalls.

Spiracorn were a distant relative of mesmenir but completely black in color with a stiff mane. Their horns spiraled around each other, pointing straight up rather than curving like the mesmenir’s horn.

Along a side wall were stacks of boxes that contained daggerquill messenger birds. Their plumage was bright and colorful, tails long and curved with a sickle claw.

The daggerquill’s feathers were sought after by fanatics and could be used to line pillows and bedrolls as well as singular feathers used for quills. The birds only bonded with one owner.

“Is that a black chocobo?!” Prompto squeaked when he saw the bird.

Noctis nodded. “Yep. I raised her ever since she was a chick.”

Prompto practically vibrated at the realization that he was staring at a rare chocobo, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He grabbed Ignis’s arm, pulling him closer to the chocobo who seemed to be giving them the stink eye.

“Iggy, Iggy, you have to pet the chocobo!”

“My lord, it’s a chocobo. We’ve seen chocobos already.”

“Not a black one! They’re super rare!” Prompto stared at Ignis with his signature puppy dog look.

Ignis sighed then gave a defeated nod. “All right. I suppose I can pet it.”

He still didn’t understand how petting this bird was different from the two chocobo they had rented, but as long as it made Prompto happy.

Stepping towards the chocobo, which fluffed itself up as it shifted foot to foot, Ignis raised a hand to stroke its feathers.

Before he could even touch its feathers, the chocobo turned its head sharply, beak snapping at the spot where Ignis’s arm had just been.

If he had been a slower man, he was certain that the bite would have broken his arm.

The beak of a chocobo was insanely strong and large for a bird that ate greens.

“Iggy!” Prompto gasped, moving to Ignis’s side to check his arm over.

Noctis burst out laughing at the almost accident and the chocobo seemed to be laughing as well, squawking and flapping its wings.

Ignis shot the Lucian prince a withering look while Prompto appeared confused as to why Noctis was laughing when Ignis almost got hurt.

“Heh. Sorry, I should have warned you that Bitch doesn’t like anyone but me to touch her.”

“You named the chocobo Bitch?” Prompto asked, even more confused and a little horrified.

Why would Noctis give the bird a horrible name?

“Of course. She’s a bitch!” Noctis slapped Bitch’s neck harder than necessary but the chocobo appeared not to care, leaning her head down to preen Noctis’s hair with a coo.

“Glaadiioo!”

Gladiolus looked to the side, leaning down in time to catch an armful of girl.

The girl had long black hair and appeared to be around twelve. She wore a nice black kimono that had blue flowers spattered around.

Ignis recognized the flowers on the kimono as sylleblossoms, a flower native to Tenebrae.

Gladiolus gave a small chuckle as he supported the girl on one arm. “Iris. What are you doing here?”

“Daddy wanted me to find you. Said he had to talk to you about something very important.”

Gladiolus frowned slightly, unsure of what his father wanted to speak to him about, before looking at Noctis.

Before he could say anything, Noctis flapped a hand.

“Don’t worry about it, big guy. I was heading to bed soon anyway. I’m sure Prompto is tired too after the long journey.”

Prompto gave a yawn in response, rubbing his eye. He chuckled, setting a hand on the back of his neck. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

“I’ll show you to your room then.” Noctis patted Bitch one more time before making his way back to the citadel.

Gladiolus let Iris down as Prompto and Ignis followed Noctis.

Iris ran up to Prompto, pulling on his sleeve to get his attention. “So, you’re from Niflheim?”

“Yep!” Prompto grinned down at her.

“What’s it like there?”

“I’m curious as well,” Noctis said, looking at Prompto. “Tell us about Gralea.”

“Hm. Where do I start?” Prompto crossed his arms, tilting his head side to side before he dropped his left fist into the palm of his right hand. “Oh. Well besides being cold all the time, Gralea celebrates a special time every year during January.”

“What kind of celebration?” Iris asked, appearing interested as her eyes lit up.

“Well, we call is Shiva’s Grace and it’s to celebrate when she first coated our land in snow and ice.” Prompto chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Which is definitely a weird thing to celebrate, but we do. We give people presents to thank them for just being around and we have a giant feast with everyone in town, like our festival for Ifrit’s Dying Flame. Which is weird since we don’t really _have_ an autumn equinox.”

“That sounds like a festival similar to one that we do every January,” Noctis said, cutting off Prompto’s mumbling. “We usually give a present to people close to us and have a family dinner with all the food harvested from Ifrit’s Bounty during August. We call it Bahamut’s Triumph.”

Prompto grinned. “That’s cool that we have the same festivals!”

Noctis held up a closed fist at Prompto and Prompto stared at it for a few seconds before he slowly lifted up his own closed fist, knocking it against Noctis.

Iris stared up at Ignis with wide eyes, even more interested in the silent shinobi. “Where are you from, Mr. Shinobi? You don’t have a Niflheim accent.”

Ignis’s eyes widened slightly at the question before he looked away, the hand atop Senshi gipping the handle tight.

Prompto was about to change the subject when Ignis murmured, “I’m from…a place of no consequence.”

Iris was about to ask something else, obviously pressing for more information, but Gladiolus set a hand on her shoulder. When she looked at him, he shook his head to tell her not to pester any more.

Ignis was obviously uncomfortable about the situation and it wasn’t fair to bother him about a topic he wasn’t comfortable with.

Noctis cleared his throat in order to change the subject, nudging Prompto’s arm. “Do you play King’s Knight?”

“Do I?!” Prompto gasped. “I love King’s Knight!”

“We could play a round tomorrow if you want.” Noctis shrugged with a hopeful smile.

Prompto nodded excitedly. “Yeah! That sounds fun!”  
“Great. Then it’s a date.” Noctis paused in front of a door, gesturing to it. “Here’s your room. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Prompto gave a nod. “Of course. See you.”  
“See you. Yeah.” Noctis gave a wave before trailing after Gladiolus and Iris.

Ignis watched them leave as Prompto opened the door, noticing how Noctis elbowed Gladiolus after the samurai cuffed him on the back of the head. They acted almost friendly towards each other rather than samurai and charge.

“Come on, Iggy!” Prompto called from the room.

“Coming, my lord.” Ignis cast one glance back at the retreating Noctis, Gladiolus and Iris before entering the room.

Prompto was sprawled out on the bed, looking content. He stretched out his entire body with a groan. “Man, I’m exhausted.”

“It was a long day. And tomorrow will be long as well with the treaty signing and you being taken on a tour of Insomnia.”

Prompto sighed as he propped himself up on his elbows. “Yeah. But this is fun, being outside of Niflheim.”

Ignis nodded, sliding Senshi from his belt. “I trust you’ll be all right while I go to the bathing room?”

“I’m surrounded by samurai, Igs. If something happens, you’ll know.”

Ignis appeared doubtful but he nodded, leaning Senshi against the bed before leaving the room.

Prompto watched him leave before popping off the bed and moving to the nearby desk, sitting at it and pulling out a sheet of parchment paper to write a quick note to his father about what he had experienced during his first day in Insomnia.

* * *

Ignis’s bath was short. He was lucky it had been empty by the time he arrived as Ignis always bathed alone. He didn’t like to be seen undressed and while part of it was because of vulnerability, the other part resided from his childhood.

The towels stacked on a box beside the baths were soft, made from the fur of a coeurl. Lining a shelf on the wall were vials of liquid soaps to put into the tub to make the water bubble and skin smell like sylleblossom, lavender or mint. The shampoos were even more extravagant, made with the essence of strawberries, coconut from Galahd or cherry blossom petals from Altissia. The choices to choose from had been a lot and Ignis had eventually chosen the cherry blossom shampoo, leaving the water clear and scent free; he wasn't one to make his skin smell like flowers. It wasn't conducive to his job as a shinobi which required silence and scents that didn't attract attention.

As he walked back towards Prompto’s room, Ignis continued to rub his hair dry. Without the gel to make his hair stand up, it hung mostly in his face, making him appear younger.

Someone walked down the hall towards Ignis but Ignis only paid them a cursory glance as they passed each other.

The man who Ignis assumed was a Kingsglaive or perhaps even a Crownsguard seemed of no importance with an average face and short, brown hair. Their clothes were muted and a short sword was sheathed at their side. The collar of their jacket covered up the black mark imprinted on their neck, but the half that Ignis spotted appeared to be similar to a sun.

Ignis paused, glancing over his shoulder at the man’s back.

That mark had seemed familiar to Ignis, but no matter how he racked his brain, the swirled design brought up no information in his data banks. The tattoo nagged at him, but since he couldn’t remember where he had seen the design before, Ignis assumed it couldn’t be important.

Once the man had turned a corner, Ignis resumed his trek back to the room. The day had been quite long and sleep’s siren song was calling him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> plot what plot plot sucks  
> jk it's gonna happen  
> eventually  
> comments are my lifeblood xD


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all right here's the next chapter lol  
> I hope you enjoy cause it took a bit of thinking

Ignis’s peaceful slumber was interrupted by a heavy weight dropping on his chest. He grunted, instincts kicking in immediately as he reached for Senshi only to find that his arms were pinned to his sides by the weight on him. Ignis opened his eyes to find that the weight was Prompto, the blond grinning at him widely. Ignis sighed, expression going blank. “Aren’t you a bit too old to jump on me?”

“Not really,” Prompto said with a shrug before he stretched his arms out in front of him. Then he jumped off Ignis, bouncing on his feet. “Come on! I want to eat breakfast before we explore Insomnia with Noct!”

 _Noct?_ Ignis wondered as he sat up then swung his legs out of bed, standing up and straightening his clothes. “You sure are on friendly terms with the Lucian prince.”

“We’re the same age,” Prompto said with a shrug. “I don’t think he’d mind me calling him Noct.”

Ignis hummed, picking up Senshi and sliding the sheathed weapon into his belt. “Well, then, we shouldn’t keep him waiting.”

Prompto’s grin widened and he snatched Ignis’s wrist, dragging the shinobi out of the room.

* * *

The endeavor of breakfast was just as large as the feast they had been offered yesterday.

Ignis wondered if all Lucian meals were this extravagant or if it was merely because the King had guests of high importance.

Niflheim meals, or at least the meals from the palace, were small and personable. Usually only two or three plates of food split along a small group, taken and replaced once dessert arrived after dinner.

Lucian meals on the other hand appeared to always be a grand event. It was definitely an interesting custom.

As he and Prompto walked into the dining hall, Ignis could see the long table filled to the brim once more, laden with breakfast foods. He could see piles of bacon and sausage along with a variety of different egg styles. There were pitchers of orange juice and sheep’s milk as well.

As Ignis sat beside Prompto, his eyes scanned the table, mind working to concoct something of note that he thought Prompto would like to try at a later date.

“Took you long enough,” Gladiolus rumbled from his seat next to Noctis, fixing the two with a disproving stare.

“Big guy here’s gonna eat everything if you don’t hurry,” Noctis said with a grin as he patted Gladiolus’s arm.

Gladiolus took a playful swing at Noctis, the prince ducking under it with a laugh and retaliating with a jab at the samurai’s exposed ribs.

Prompto’s heart panged at the relationship Noctis and Gladiolus seemed to have and once again wondered why he and Ignis couldn’t have the same thing. Surely they could be friends _and_ Lord and Shinobi without any detriment to their relationship. But, no, Ignis was always all business.

With an inward sigh, Prompto began to fill his plate with some sausage. The tour of Insomnia would likely take all day and he wanted to make sure he wouldn’t ruin the fun by getting hungry too early. The food smelled delicious and Prompto didn’t want to admit that it rivaled Ignis’s cooking.

Ignis eyed everything on the table before beginning to take a slice of toasted bread, an open-faced egg, and a thin cut of gighee ham. He carefully placed the egg on top of the ham which sat on the bread.

Gladiolus watched him with a raised eyebrow, but didn’t comment on the strange breakfast.

After cutting his experimental sandwich into several pieces and taking a bite, Ignis decided that a sauce needed to be added to make it less dry. Something that wasn’t sweet. Maybe a sauce that had aegir root as a base.

Prompto watched Ignis, already knowing what was going on in the shinobi’s head.

A new recipe to make and try, as many times as it took to live up to Ignis’s expectations.

Prompto wondered if Ignis was going to feel comfortable enough using the kitchen soon. He missed Ignis’s peppery daggerquill rice recipe. Prompto’s mouth watered just thinking about the meal and he wondered if the King would be all right with a Niflheim-made dinner.

Prompto glanced towards Regis, busy eating his own breakfast while glancing over what appeared to be the treaty outline. “Excuse me, King Regis?”

Regis’s eyes glanced up as he lowered the paper in his hand. “Yes, Prince Prompto?”

“Would it be possible if Ignis made dinner tonight?”

Ignis choked slightly at the appalling question, turning to stare at Prompto with huge, astonished eyes. “Y-Your Highness! Please.”

“You cook?” Gladiolus grunted, appearing doubtful that what Prompto insinuated was true.

“I…dabble,” Ignis coughed, dropping his gaze to his half-eaten plate and hoping Prompto would drop the subject.

The Gods ignored his plea, as usual.

“Are you kidding?!” Prompto asked with a gasp, eager to make the others interested in Ignis’s cooking. “Iggy’s a magician in the kitchen!”

“I don’t see why that can’t be arranged,” Regis murmured, glancing at Clarus standing beside him.

Clarus gave a curt nod, walking off.

“Now I’m curious,” Noctis muttered. “Can’t wait to try it.”

“Of…course,” Ignis mumbled, hands clenched in his lap, internally mortified at Prompto’s gall.

The prince seemed pleased that his plan had worked. He knew what he wanted to eat. And he would definitely ask for a dessert too.

“With that aside,” Regis said. “Once breakfast has concluded, we can sign the treaty. Then you can galivant all you want with my son.”

Prompto chuckled at the statement, rubbing the back of his neck. “Of course, Your Majesty.”

* * *

Four treaties were written up. Two for Niflheim and two for Lucis. Regis claimed a copy kept somewhere safe would be best, especially for future generations should the treaty be forgotten in the passage of time. Prompto had thought it a good idea as well; he didn’t want another war to brew fifty years down the line because the treaty had been lost or gods forbid, destroyed.

Once Regis had signed the treaties and stamped them with the Seal of Lucis, Prompto signed the treaties. Prompto sent his two copies to Niflheim via daggerquill so his father could see that their accord with Lucis was finalized.

The second Prompto and Regis had left the treaty signing room, Noctis grabbed Prompto’s arm.

“Come on! I want to show you something.”

“Thank you for everything, Your Majesty!” Prompto called as Noctis dragged him off with Ignis and Gladiolus close behind.

“Have fun,” Regis chuckled, waving after the group.

“Should we be allowing them to leave the citadel grounds?” Clarus asked, glancing at Regis as he came to stand beside the king.

Regis nodded, leaning on his cane. “It’s fine, Clarus. They’re protected by your son and Ignis. I’m sure nothing will befall them.”

“If you say so, Your Majesty.”

Regis walked off, waving a hand over his shoulder. “Come along, Clarus. I’m fancying a game of chess.”

“You’re eager to lose, I take it,” Clarus murmured, following close behind Regis.

“I never said that,” Regis chuckled, smiling as he glanced at Clarus.

“You always lose.”

“Ouch. Your words wound me, Clarus.”

* * *

"I thought we were going to see Insomnia,” Prompto said, following Noctis through the stables.

“Oh, we will,” Noctis replied, opening the door to a small barn. “But I forgot to show you the old girl yesterday.”

“Old girl?” Prompto repeated, tilting his head.

Was it another chocobo? One that was retired from carrying people?

As they turned a corner, Prompto gasped at the creature standing in a stall of its own.

It wasn’t a chocobo, but a spiracorn. An albino spiracorn.

“Wow,” he breathed as Noctis went up to the spiracorn to pet its neck. “Iggy, you seeing this?”

“I see it,” Ignis said with a nod. “An albino spiracorn. Truly a rare creature.”

“She’s almost one in a million,” Noctis said, grinning at the others. “Her name is Regalia. She was Dad’s first mount.”

Ignis believed it. He had heard that spiracorn could live nearly a hundred years in captivity. The spiracorn looked as spry as a young colt, staring at the group with her pink eyes.

“C-can we pet her?” Prompto asked cautiously, eager to touch the magnificent Regalia but not wanting to overstep his boundaries. Regalia looked gentle, but looks could be deceiving.

Noctis nodded, moving to the side. “Don’t worry. She’s gentle as can be.”

Prompto grinned, stepping closer to Regalia. He held up his hand for her to sniff and once she bowed her head, he rubbed her neck, gasping in awe. Her skin felt rough and warm. “Wow…”

Ignis moved to the other side, satisfied that Prompto proved that the spiracorn was safe, and began to pet the other side of its neck.

After a few more seconds, Prompto was satisfied and he moved back, looking at Noctis. “Now what?”

“Well, we can explore Insomnia to your hearts’ content. There are lots of cool restaurants and the agricultural points that we have are cool, too.”

“Can we ride the cable cars?” Prompto asked, eyes lighting up as he waved his hands a bit in excitement.

Noctis chuckled, smiling in amusement as he nodded. “Sure. We’ll have to in order to get to the far portions of the city.”

Prompto bounced on his feet. “Then I don’t care where we go! We can go anywhere as long as we ride the cable cars!”

“Come on, then.” Noctis waved and lead them to the nearest cable car port.

They were the only four in the cart as it began to pull above Insomnia, Prompto leaning over the edge to stared down at everything beneath them.

“Your highness!” Ignis gasped, holding onto the blond’s arm to prevent him from flipping out.

Noctis stood on Prompto’s other side, pointing to a portion of the city in the distance. “That’s one of our agricultural points. It grows crops, mostly vegetables and fruits.”

“Wow…”

“That one does spices we don’t import from Galahd. That one on your right raises animals for slaughter; like basilisk and cockatrice.”

Prompto looked at the points that Noctis was showing him, awed at how efficient Insomnia was, each point dedicated to a specific farming style.

“And that one with the water is a fishpond. We raise a lot of Lucis-bred fish, either to eat or export.”

“That’s awesome.”

“I bet if we visit one of the points we could get some free samples,” Noctis said, grinning at Prompto. “Anything you want to try?”

“Can we see the fruits and veggies?” Prompto asked. “Maybe there’s something Iggy can use.”

Ignis grimaced slightly as Noctis’s gaze turned on him along with the attention of Gladiolus. He remained silent on the matter, leaning his back against the cart’s side, folding his arms across his chest.

Noctis smiled at the behavior. The shinobi was obviously embarrassed at being called out by his charge and trying to act aloof in defense. “Sure. You’ll love the Duscaen oranges and the ulwaat berries.”

Prompto hadn’t heard of either and he was eager to see what they tasted like. He was sure that Ignis would enjoy trying them as well.

While the cable car continued its course towards the fruit and vegetable agricultural point, Prompto continued to gaze around at whatever he could, enjoying the view of Insomnia from the car’s height. He could see all the houses and the market places sprawled throughout the entire enormous area that was Insomnia.

After the cable car had come to a halt at a small port, the four got off and were almost instantly greeted by a farmer with shoulder-length black hair pulled back into a ponytail. He was wearing dirty gray pants and a white shirt.

“Good morning, Your Highness,” the man said with a smile, his green eyes sparkling with the crow’s feet deepening at the edges of his cheeks. “Showing some guests to my humble farm?”

“This is Prince Prompto from Niflheim and his shinobi Ignis.” Noctis gestured to each one in turn.

Prompto waved while Ignis inclined his head.

The man’s smile widened. “More royalty? Well, I’m honored. What can I do you for?”

“We wanted to try some of your Duscaen oranges and ulwaat berries.”

“Of course.” The man bowed before walking off. “Follow me.”

“This place is awesome!” Prompto whispered to Noctis as he and the others followed after the farmer.

The farm was enormous in its own right. To the left were the vegetable patches and to the right were the fruit trees and berry bushes. A small house and a barn sat at the edge of the farm, obviously where the farmer stayed when he wasn’t working in the fields.

“Just wait until you taste their food,” Noctis said. “They’re the best farmer this side of Lucis. It’s where a lot of our exports are gathered from.”

“Wow…”

Ignis gazed around the farm while they waited for the farmer to return with the samples, noticing that the fields grew Caem carrots, Lucian tomatoes, Leiden potatoes, Lucian apples, Cleigne limes, and Leide lemons besides the ulwaat berries and Duscaen oranges. He could see, in the distance, a small plot of land designated for growing mushrooms.

“If you think this smells good, wait until we visit the plot that grows spices,” Noctis said. “It smells so good.”

“This is amazing already,” Prompto said while Ignis nodded.

“Yes,” Ignis murmured, a faint smile on the edges of his lips. “Your country is quite impressive.”

“I’m sure Niflheim has its own quirks,” Noctis said, looking at Gladiolus for assistance. “Right, Gladio?”

Gladiolus hummed, crossing his arms, an unreadable expression on his face. “I’ve heard that besides the snow and unique monsters, Niflheim also has a unique energy source to heat your homes and shards from the Disc.”

“Oh, the meteor?” Prompto asked. “Yeah. No one knows how so many fragments landed in Niflheim, but they’re difficult to get to, so not many people know magic.”

People could learn magic only if they managed to get their hands on the meteor or fragments from the meteor. That was the only way and a lot of times the fragments were in monster infested areas, making it even more difficult of a venture for those who wanted to access the ability to use magic.

“Same here,” Noctis said with an understanding nod. “Hard to get near those shards if you don’t know how to fight.”

“Iggy knows magic, though!” Prompto grinned, looking at Ignis. “Don’t you, Iggy?”

“You touched a meteor shard?” Gladiolus rumbled doubtfully, raising an eyebrow.

“I thought it was a chunk of crystal,” Ignis muttered, looking away from the eyes on him. “I was five at the time and didn’t know any better.”

“What’s your major elements?” Noctis asked.

“Fire and ice.”

Noctis gave a small laugh. “That seems so…you. Cold on the outside…”

“Warm and fuzzy on the inside!” Prompto finished, nudging Noctis.

The Lucian prince definitely had Ignis pegged.

Ignis sighed quietly as the two princes dissolved into laughter.

The farmer returned to the group, carrying four oranges and a handful of red berries. He gave an orange to each of them. “Go on and try these first. We picked ‘em today so they’re nice and ripe.”

Prompto began to peel the thick skin off the orange, pulling out one of the slices beneath it and popping it into his mouth.

The orange was thick and juicy. The membrane holding it together was thin, making it quicker to chew.

“This is amazing!” Prompto gasped, taking another slice to eat.

“I’ve never tasted an orange so sweet,” Ignis murmured, admiring the orange.

It would make a soft and fluffy orange cake.

“Oh, why thank ya,” the farmer said, smiling at the praise. He held out the hand that had the ulwaat berries. “Try these now.”

Ignis picked up one of the berries, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger, then popped it into his mouth. He had heard ulwaat berries tasted sweet and juicy. The rumors didn’t do the taste justice.

“Best berries ever,” Noctis mumbled, grinning at the farmer. “Thanks, Stephen.”

“Anything for you, Prince Noctis,” Stephen said with a bow. “Please, go on and enjoy yourselves.”

Prompto gave a bow in return to Stephen before he followed the others back to the cable car.

“Where to now?” Noctis asked, after closing the door.

* * *

The four spent the entire day exploring everything Insomnia had to offer. Noctis took them to eat lunch at a small restaurant that he knew, claiming the place had topnotch food. Their most famous dish was a breaded cutlet with tomato.

Prompt assumed what Noctis said was true since he saw Ignis actually take out the small notebook and charcoal pencil from the depths of his robe, scribbling in it after tasting the cutlet. It was the first time Prompto had seen the journal during their journey and it meant Ignis was getting good recipe ideas.

Gladiolus saw Ignis writing in the notebook, but only raised an eyebrow, deciding not to say anything. He didn’t want to ruin the fun that Noctis and Prompto seemed to be having.

By the time the group returned to the citadel, the sun was setting, casting a cozy orange glow across the city. Stars began to twinkle into existence.

Noctis slapped Prompto’s back. “Ready to rumble?”

“In King’s Knight?” Prompto grinned at the challenge. “You know it.”

“Be ready to have your ass kicked.”

“You should be the one ready to have your ass kicked.” Prompto grinned, crossing his arms with a proud smile. “Iggy made me my own set.”

Gladiolus and Noctis looked at Ignis in surprise.

“You made an entire King’s Knight game by yourself?” Gladiolus asked in disbelief.

“That’s…kind of awesome,” Noctis said, grinning at Ignis.

“It’s nothing special,” Ignis murmured, looking to the side to avoid the stares.

“It was totally special!” Prompto gasped. “You spent a week carving each piece from wood, Igs! It’s super special.”

“That’s amazing,” Noctis said. “Didn’t think someone would have the time or energy to do something like that.”

“It was nothing,” Ignis replied in an attempt to get the conversation steered in another direction.

Prompto decided to drop the conversation since it appeared to be making Ignis stressed.

Noctis lead them to a small sitting room, opening a desk and pulling out a rectangular wooden item. Laying it on a nearby table, Noctis opened the King’s Knight board, revealing the drawings of Terra, the land where the game was set. There were tall mountains, rolling green fields, arid deserts and deep caves.

From a small compartment on the board game’s side, Noctis took out four panels, several chips to keep track of HP, and two twenty-sided wooden die that was colored black with white pits.

Noctis and Prompto sat across from each other, Gladiolus and Ignis standing behind their respective charge.

“You can choose which character you want since you’re the guest,” Noctis said, handing the stack of cards to Prompto.

While Prompto chose what character he wanted to play as, Noctis took out a folded sheet of parchment, handing it to Gladiolus.

“You be the narrator.”

Gladiolus gave a sigh before he nodded as he took the paper. “Of course.”

Prompto held up one of the cards which depicted a drawing of a young male wielding a bow. “I pick Mercury, the Hyur archer.”

“You seem like a sniper,” Noctis said, taking the three remaining cards. He scanned them quickly then showed one to Prompto. A male brandishing a sword. “G’raha Tia, the Miqo’te swordsman.”

There was a snort from Gladiolus and Noctis shot a scowl at him.

Prompto imagined that G’raha Tia was Noctis’s favored character and used every time he played the game.

“All right,” Prompto said, gathering his HP chips and setting them on top of his character card. “Where are we?”

Gladiolus scanned over the parchment sheet, written in Noctis’s poor handwriting and scratched out in several places. “Look likes you’re in the Lands of Woe, searching for the boss, a slumbering adamantoise.”

“Adamantoise?” Prompto asked, tilting his head.

“Giant turtles,” Noctis explained. “Rumor has it that Longwythe Peak is actually an adamantoise.”

“Has anyone laid those rumors to rest?” Ignis questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Noctis shook his head. “Not that I’ve heard.”

“Anyway,” Gladiolus grunted. “You both are walking through the barren lands, dust stirred up by the winds, the tip you received from the last town says that the beast’s shell remains aboveground while it slumbers underneath. After a bit of walking you come to suspicious mountain.”

“Could be the adamantoise,” Noctis muttered, staring at the map laid out on the table before them.

Prompto nodded. It seemed like a logical conclusion.

“You believe it’s the monster you’re searching for. The only question is how you’re going to lure it out from its hiding spot.”

“Oh, oh!” Prompto gasped, clapping his hands. “We could feed it.”

“Feed it what?” Noctis snorted with a raised eyebrow. “Us?”

What did turtles even eat?

Prompto frowned as he thought about it before he remembered that turtles were vegetarians. “A tree! It has leaves on it so maybe it will look like lettuce or something.”

Noctis hummed before nodding. “Yeah, we could try that.”

Gladiolus gave a shrug. “After cutting down any trees you could find nearby, you set them in front of the adamantoise. Then you wait for it to take the bait.”

“How long do we have to wait?” Noctis whined. “I just want to kill stuff.”

Prompto laughed. “Come on. If you wanted to kill something, you could have chosen a different boss.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Gladiolus cleared his throat then said, “After waiting for what felt like hours, the ground began to rumble. Very slowly the giant head of the adamantoise lifted itself up from the ground. It stares down at you two. Begin the battle.”

“Can I go first?” Prompto asked, giving a hopeful smile.

Noctis nodded, handing one of the die to Prompto.

Prompto looked at the available attacks listed on his character card. “I want to try…Misery’s End.”

“Roll a strength check to see your damage count.”

Prompto nodded, rolling the die across the board.

It landed on 10.

Gladiolus stared at the die then hummed. “200 points of damage. The boss has 4,000 hit points.”

“Aw, man,” Prompto muttered as Noctis took care of shifting some chips around to display the current HP of the boss. He handed the die to Noctis.

“Brand’s Thunder,” Noctis said, rolling the die to check his strength.

15.

“400 points of damage,” Gladiolus said, “The boss is down to 3,400 hit points. The adamantoise retaliates against your attacks, hitting the both of you with a massive paw, dealing 200 points worth of damage to both of you.”

“Ow,” Prompto muttered, appearing offended. “Rude.”

“Your turn,” Noctis said, giving the die to Prompto.

Ignis watched as Prompto stared at his character card, searching for his next attack. He was about to suggest a potential move to try when Prompto shoved a hand towards him.

“No, no, I got this,” Prompto mumbled.

Ignis gave a slight bow, allowing Prompto to choose his next move.

“Let’s try Arrow Storm,” Prompto said, rolling the die again.

20.

“Yes!” Prompto gasped. “A critical hit!”

“Good job, Prom,” Noctis said, grinning at the blond.

“You do…1,000 points of damage, hitting the adamantoise’s weak spots. Its health drops down to 2,400.”

“We’re halfway there!” Prompto crowed as Noctis took the die. “Don’t go dying on me now, Noct.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Noctis muttered. “Let’s try Soul of Thamasa.”

15.

“Not bad,” Noctis muttered, shrugging.

“Thamasa does 400 points of damage. Adamantoise’s health is now down to 2,000.”

The adamantoise moved next and the game continued until one of Noctis’s hits landed a critical hit, finally killing the beast.

“That was awesome!” Prompto gasped. “I don’t think I’ve had this much fun playing King’s Knight before.”

Noctis chuckled. “Me either. You’re a fun guy, Prom.”

Prompt appeared embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“If we’re done here,” Ignis said. “Then we should get started on dinner preparation since _someone_ offered that I make dinner for the King.”

Prompto tried and failed to look apologetic.

“Oh, no, wait,” Noctis said with a devilish smile. “You and Gladiolus should play a round.”

Gladiolus groaned at the suggestion, closing his eyes. “Come on, Noct. I don’t want to play against a shinobi.”

Ignis’s eyebrow twitched. “You got a problem with shinobi?”

“I do when they’re right across from me.”

The two scowled at each other then sat in the seats Noctis and Prompt vacated.

“I choose Galatine, the Ronso gladiator,” Gladiolus grunted, picking up a character card.

“Then I choose the Elezen assassin Zwill.”

Gladiolus snorted. “You _would_.”

“And you would choose a muscle head.”

Prompto appeared ecstatic as the two continued to glare at each other. Ignis had never played a game of King’s Knight and now Prompto was going to get to watch him play his first game. Ignis had always watched Prompto play, so the shinobi knew the rules of the game.

Noctis smirked, looking for a campaign that hadn’t been done, before saying, “All right, you two are searching for the malice incarnate, Zeromus.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah King's Knight in this AU is basically a crappy version of DnD xD  
> a lot of the names/races/spells used are from many different versions of Final Fantasy or even from Octopath.  
> I mayyyy not update next week due to it being Christmas but we'll see xD


	4. Chapter 4

“How about we make this interesting?” Gladiolus said with a cheeky grin in Ignis’ direction. “A bet, if you will.”

Ignis narrowed his eyes suspiciously while Prompto set the board up for their game. He was not a betting man. But if he could rub something in the smug samurai’s face….

“What sort of bet?” Ignis asked warily, shifting the chips that represented his health closer to his side of the board.

“The first one to deal the finishing blow to the boss wins. If I win, you have to train against me.”

Ignis gave a mild snort, raising a doubtful eyebrow. “Train? I’m sure you mean battle.”

“Battle, train.” Gladiolus gave a shrug with a lazy grin. “Either way, we cross blades.”

Prompto seemed uncomfortable with the idea. He knew Ignis was a terror with the sword, but Gladiolus was larger and stronger. Prompto knew Gladiolus wanted a way to embarrass Ignis and beating the shinobi in a fight would do that.

Ignis appeared to know that was what Gladiolus wanted but didn’t seem too concerned as he crossed his arms, leaning back a bit in his chair. “That seems like a respectable prize should you win. And if I win, then you have to help me prepare tonight’s dinner.”

There was a snort from Noctis as he gave a huge grin. “Now your shinobi has to win, Prom.”

“I thought you would be on my side,” Gladiolus grumbled, scowling at Noctis.

Noctis gave a shrug. “Hey, the chance to see you fumbling in the kitchen is too good to pass up.”

Gladiolus huffed, rolling his eyes.

After setting both of their figures on the board, Ignis and Gladiolus continued to scowl at each other.

Noctis grinned before he cleared his throat. “All right. you two start out in the Caverns of Confusion, known for its twisting corridors and changing layout. The first fork in the road you come to has two vastly different roads. The left is covered in sharp thorns while the right has sweet smelling flowers. Which road do you choose?”

“We should go down the one with thorns,” Ignis said. “It’s the most likely route.”

“The route to death,” Gladiolus snorted, shaking his head. “The flowers are the safer route.”

“Sometimes, the safest route is not always the best.”

“The thorns will lead us into a trap with a monster,” Gladiolus growled. “The flowers are safe.”

Ignis sharpened his gaze at Gladiolus but decided that continuously arguing with the samurai would be wasting his breath. He sat back, sweeping a hand at Gladiolus. “All right. We’ll go down the flower route.”

Gladiolus gave a triumphant smirk.

Prompto knew that Ignis was proving a point to Gladiolus. Ignis’ instincts were never wrong.

“You both go down the path lined with flowers,” Noctis said. “The scent coming from their petals is overpowering. A faint mist of pollen hangs in the air. Flowers begin to coat the ground as you walk deeper. Eventually you come to a dead end.”

“Are you serious?” Gladiolus snapped. “The shinobi was right?”

Ignis remained quiet as Noctis continued.

“The only thing in the dead end is a mound which seems to be moving on its own. Seconds later, something bursts up from the ground, sending dirt and pollen everywhere. You’ve fallen for the mandrake’s trap.”

Gladiolus stared at Ignis who gave the slightest upturn of his mouth.

“I told you the flowers weren’t safe.”

There was a deep growl in the back of Gladiolus’ throat before he looked at his characters’ card to choose an attack. “I’ll attack with Downhammer.”

“Roll for strength,” Prompto said, wanting to be helpful. He could do the checks while Noctis did the story.

With a grunt, Gladiolus rolled the dice across the board.

12.

“Your attack lands on the creature’s side but the mandrake doesn’t seem afflicted by the damage.”

“That should have snapped it in half,” Gladiolus grumbled, scowling at the board like it personally offended him.

“I’ll roll for Libra Elementia,” Ignis said.

“Wisdom and intelligence check.”

Ignis rolled the two dice, one for wisdom and one for intelligence.

18 and 17.

“Your magic targets the enemies’ weak point which happens to be fire. The flames wrap around the mandrake’s body, singeing its flesh and causing it to shriek. The beast is far from finished though as sharp thorns protrude from its vines which whip towards both of you. The tips of the thorns are coated with an incurable poison.”

“We’ll both dodge,” Gladiolus said.

Ignis shot an annoyed look at the samurai. He could control his own character just fine without the samurai’s help.

“Check for uh…” Prompto looked at Noctis. “Dexterity?”

“Makes sense,” Noctis said with a shrug. “Since they’re dodging.”

Gladiolus rolled the dice.

16.

“Both of you dodge to opposite sides. The thorns bounce off Galatine’s armor, scratching it. Another thorn scratches Zwill’s arm. Blood beads. The poison will slowly chip away at your health.”

Ignis made a slight noise before announcing, “I’ll try Libra Elementia again.”

He rolled for wisdom and intelligence again, both dice landing on twenty.

Prompto whistled while Noctis said, “Your fire magic doubles in strength and manages to consume the mandrake, leaving behind nothing but ash. The mini-boss leaves behind only money.”

“All that for money?” Gladiolus mumbled, offended that they had wasted time on a mini-boss for such a pathetic prize. “What a waste.”

“You’re telling me,” Ignis said. “I have an incurable poison.”

“You should be able to survive until you reach the boss,” Prompto piped up.

“You take away 5 health points every hundred steps,” Noctis said. “You’re level 20 so your health is about four hundred.”

Ignis was well aware of his health bar. He just hoped the boss didn’t take too long to reach.

“You backtrack through the now withered flower tunnel and go down the left one. After following the correct path for what feels like an eternity, you come to an open space.

The only thing there is a pulsing mound of black goo.”

“That has to be Zeromus,” Gladiolus said.

“And it could be a trap,” Ignis countered. “We need to make sure before we go headfirst into a battle we cannot win. I thought samurai were good at strategy.”

Gladiolus gave a deep growl, clenching his hands at the shinobi’s barb to his honor.

Ignis stared at the board for a few minutes before he said, “I’d like to Analyze this mound.”

“Roll for intelligence and wisdom.”

Ignis gave a nod, rolling the two dice.

18 and 19.

“Your analytic skills give you the impression that this goo is not something to be trifled with. As you get closer for an up-close inspection, the sludge violently moves and shifts, raising itself up and forming into a large winged beast similar to a wyvern. You find yourself face to face with the malice incarnate, Zeromus.”

“Impulse!” Gladiolus said, rolling a dice for strength.

15.

“Your attack lands against Zeromus’ side but bounces off its gelatinous skin.”

“Eh?!” Gladiolus slapped his face in frustration at the second missed critical attack. “Come on!”

Ignis hummed, rubbing his chin as he thought about his move. His health was cut in half thanks to the poison and any blow by Zeromus would possibly finish him off.

“It’s your turn,” Prompto said.

“I’m aware. Can I do another Analyze on Zeromus?”

Noctis appeared surprised before he nodded. “Sure, I don’t see why not.”

Ignis rolled two dice to check for intelligence and wisdom. Both got nineteen.

“Another look at the beast gave you insight into a possible weakness: a red pulsing core right in the center of its being.”

“A weak point?” Gladiolus mumbled. Why hadn’t he thought to check the boss for a weak point before attacking?

“Zeromus strikes back at the both of you with a heavy paw, sending both of you into the nearby wall. The force is enough to take off over a hundred points to your health.”

Gladiolus grumbled as he slid a few chips away. He was better off than Ignis though who was down to less than 100 points of health.

“I want to try Ultimate Deathblow,” Ignis said. “That could finish Zeromus off in one hit.”

“Or backfire and kill you!” Prompto protested. “That’s a dangerous move.”

“It doesn’t matter what happens. I’m dying of poison anyway.”

“All that matters is who beats the boss first,” Noctis said. “Roll for wisdom.”

Ignis gave a nod and rolled the dice.

20.

“Another twenty…” Prompto said in awe. “That’s amazing, Iggy!”

“The Ultimate Deathblow allows wielders to deal the final blow, no matter the enemies’ hit points. With Zeromus’ weak spot exposed, you leap up with your daggers ready and plunge deep into the beast’s core. Zeromus lets out an eerie shriek as it writhes. The movement is violent enough to send you to the ground, the fall damaging you. Zeromus continues to shriek until it falls still, melting into a puddle. The fight is over but the damage is done. Combined with the poison and the damage inflicted by Zeromus’ death throes, Zwill the Elezen assassin is dead.”

“Aw,” Prompto muttered. “But that was a good run!”

“I win,” Gladiolus rumble with a grin.

“I think not,” Ignis said, crossing his arms. “Your bet was who could defeat the boss first, not who died first. I beat the boss.”

Gladiolus gave a growl, baring his teeth slightly.

Ignis’ mouth quirked up in a slight smirk. “See you in the kitchen, samurai.”

* * *

Gladiolus grumbled as he passed through the kitchen entrance.

A few workers that remained in the kitchen appeared amused to see the samurai. They quickly minded their own business when Gladiolus shot them a withering glare.

Ignis was already at a counter, ingredients laid out on the surface. Without even looking at Gladiolus, he said, “Sword by the door, samurai.”

With a restrained growl, Gladiolus unstrapped his blade, leaning it against the nearest wall. Then he walked over and was about to grab one of the ingredients from Ignis’ pile when Ignis smacked his hand.

“Hey!” Gladiolus pulled his hand back, rubbing it as he glared at Ignis. “Who do you think you are, you—”

Ignis pointed to the sink. “Wash your hands.”

Grumbling nasty things under his breath, Gladiolus sulked over to the sink and washed his hands. Once he had dried them, he returned to Ignis’ side. He could see the rice beginning to boil. Once again, Gladiolus tried to grab something to help, but Ignis smacked his hand again.

“I thought you wanted me to help!” Gladiolus snapped, annoyed that Ignis wasn’t allowing him to uphold his end of the bet.

“You’re going after the ingredients for the elegant orange cake. I need you to slice the limes and chop the peppers.” Ignis slid over two green items. One was oblong and kind of wrinkly and the other was round and reminded Gladiolus of a lemon.

Gladiolus pulled out a knife from the knife holder, slowly cutting the lime. “I thought this was supposed to be spicy, not tart.”

“The limes are a garnish. Not meant to be eaten but to make the dish look pretty. I will reduce the chopped peppers into a sauce that will contain chili powder, turmeric, and cumin to add an extra kick and milk to thicken it.”

“I see,” Gladiolus mumbled, glancing at Ignis to see him slicing up a daggerquill breast with refined movements. “You sure know a lot about cooking for a shinobi.”

“Despite the little time I can afford it, yes. I have been cooking since I was a child.”

“What, your parents didn’t cook for you or something?” Gladiolus teased as he began to chop the pepper. He hoped chopping meant cutting into tiny pieces.

There was a slight falter in Ignis’ cutting, not enough for some people to notice it, but Gladiolus did. Ignis just as quickly resumed cutting as he answered softly, “No, they did not.”

An orphan then. From what, Gladiolus didn’t know and from how tension was gathered around Ignis’ shoulders he decided not to pry further.

“Is this good?” he asked instead, allowing Ignis to see his work.

Ignis nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

Gladiolus watched as Ignis set the sliced daggerquill into their own pan on the stove which was just a slab of black rock set over a flame.

With another pan, Ignis mixed the chopped pepper with milk, chili powder, turmeric, and cumin.

“While this all cooks we can start on the batter for the cake,” Ignis said, washing his hands in the sink.

“What do you need me to do?”

“Pour about two cups worth of flour into a bowl and mix it with some sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.”

“Uh, there’s a difference?” Gladiolus asked uncertainly as he began to do as Ignis instructed.

“Both make the cake rise, but yes, they are both different.” Ignis returned to the counter and using a smaller bowl, cracked in three eggs before he began to pour some oil and buttermilk into it. Cutting an orange in half, he squeezed the juices out of both halves before carefully scraping some of the rind into the bowl, making sure not to scrape into the bitter white layer of the orange’s skin.

“Mix the dry ingredients together,” Ignis instructed as he began to stir the mixed liquids.

Gladiolus did as he was told. Once he was done, Ignis took the bowl, using the mixing spoon to hollow out a hole in the center of the powder.

“Why are you doing that?” Gladiolus asked, watching Ignis as he poured the liquids into the newly made center of the dry ingredients.

“This helps ensure an even mixture of wet and dry, allowing the cake to be moist and spongy as well as retain its flavor more evenly.”

“Ah.” Gladiolus continue to watch Ignis as he used a square pan to pour the batter in. He noticed that the shinobi’s expression was serious, but it was a different kind of serious from watching an opponent for weaknesses.

“Well, Ignis went to the sink to wash his hands. “Dinner should be ready by now. Hand me some plates.”

Gladiolus got out six plates and set them on the counter. He assumed his job was done as Ignis asked for no further help, plating the food on his own.

The presentation of the food looked as amazing as the food smelled and there was a brief moment in which Gladiolus wondered why Ignis became a shinobi rather than a chef.

Once everything was ready for dinner to be served, Ignis and Gladiolus let the kitchen staff handle it, heading into the dining hall were King Regis, Clarus, Prince Noctis and Prompto were already waiting.

“How’d you enjoy being a peasant?” Noctis asked with a cheeky grin at Gladiolus.

Gladiolus cuffed him on the back of the head as he sat beside Noctis. “How about you try it sometime, your royal laziness?”

Noctis snorted, running a hand through his hair.

Prompto glanced at Ignis as the shinobi sat beside him. “Was it fun?”

“Define fun,” Ignis murmured flatly. “I merely did my job that you offered I do.”

“Oh, that’s not what I mean and you know it,” Prompto complained, crossing his arms and sliding down slightly in his seat.

Gladiolus could see Ignis barely restraining an eyeroll and didn’t miss how the shinobi sported a faint, fond smile at Prompto’s actions.

The kitchen staff came in with the food, setting it in front of everyone.

“This does smell delicious,” Regis said as he smelled the food before taking a bit. He hummed. “And it tastes even better than it smells. Are you sure you don’t want to be a chef?”

Ignis inclined his head. “Your praise honors me, but I am first and foremost the shinobi to His Highness Prompto and until I can no longer perform my duties, I will remain his shadow and sword.”

“Should you change your mind, we would always welcome you here in the castle.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

* * *

Once night had fallen and Prompto was fast asleep, Ignis quietly made his way to the library to do some research on the mark he had seen on the man’s neck the night before. He trusted that if anything happened, the samurai of the castle would be able to handle it. Ignis wouldn’t be gone for long anyway. He just needed some answers.

The library was empty, light coming from torches hanging on the walls.

Ignis searched the rows upon rows of books, fingers skimming the spines as he searched for the one he needed. He eventually found one titled **Tribal Tattoos of the Outlying Regions of Eos.**

Sitting at a table with a candle to help him see, Ignis opened the book and carefully began to look through it, searching for the sun-like symbol he remembered seeing.

Galahd had quite a few pages concerning their tattoos and Ignis knew why. They were a small country, mostly made of tribal groups. Their tattoos were spiritual as well as personal. Alitissians had a few tattoos but the people of Alitissia didn’t really mar their skin with silly ink drawings.

Ignis paused when he turned the page to see a section titled Solheim. Right in the middle of the page was the swirling sun mark he had seen on the man’s neck.

That was strange. Ignis didn’t remember hearing of a friendship between Solheim and Lucis. He knew that the two traded with one another, but there wasn’t an accord between the monarchy of Lucis and the dictatorship of Solheim.

Ignis closed the book, frowning as he glanced out the window to his right. He could see the glowing lights from the lanterns in the city, showing that some people remained awake despite the time and darkness.

Why was there a Solheim operative in the castle and was King Regis aware of the matter?

Ignis had a sneaking suspicion King Regis didn’t know and that something catastrophic was going to happen soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit about to happen. xD A slightly shorter chapter but eh  
> Foreshadowing what foreshadowing


	5. Chapter 5

The night was silent and the skies clear. A few wispy clouds lazily scrolled across the sky and the moon’s crescent self continued to grin. People milled about in the markets of Insomnia, going about their daily routine. The city was named for the people who never slept and they lived up to the moniker.

A shadow passed over the moon, temporarily blocking it from view. People glanced up at the strange phenomenon as several more shadows followed the first.

The silhouettes were winged and cries that sounded like wailing shrieks echoed in the distance.

Behind the six, winged shadows were enormous flying machines, moonlight glinting off their metal hulls.

Samurai patrolling the top of the wall that surrounded Insomnia were quick to spot the creatures and the machines in the sky, racing to a brazier. Grabbing lit torches, several samurai tossed them into the dry wood stack to set it ablaze. One after the other, braziers were lit around Insomnia’s wall, alerting its citizens and the citadel to the impending invasion.

Samurai stationed outside the citadel raced inside to alert the rest of their comrades and soon after, the bell hanging from the center of the citadel began to ring, chime echoing around the entire city.

As the citizens of Insomnia began to scramble to get their family to safety, the beasts lowered themselves to view, revealing themselves to be bennu.

Bennu were a subspecies of zu with blue plumage and pale green breast feathers. A small pair of wings sat along the side of its head, folding against its skull. The long tail of the bennu had tail feathers shaped like an inverted V to allow for long flights as well as balance when on the ground. Its beak was razor sharp and jagged, making it appear as if it had teeth. Armor made of black metal covered the beast from head to rump.

Grasped in the claws of the multiple Bennu were other enormous beasts, carrying them easily like cargo. The beasts were one of the many enormous wild beasts that roamed nearly everywhere in Eos: the slow catoblepas, the fierce behemoth, and the slithering midgardsormr.

Catoblepas were stocky in build with an elongated neck that hung low. Their skin was leathery and covered in spikes along the back, enormous tusks jutting from their jaws. Much like the bennu, armor covered the catoblepas, sharper spikes arcing from the back of its neck and shoulders.

Behemoth could be considered the king of all beasts. Its claws and fangs were enormous as were the curved horns coming from its head. A stiff fin ran down its neck and the tip of its long, muscular tail was fin-shaped, evoking that the behemoth could possibly swim and used its tail as a rudder. Black and red armor covered its back and head, leaving its tail and horns free for attack.

Midgardsormr were enormous snakes with ridged hoods that were used for attack as well as defense. It was rumored midgardsormr could grow big enough to challenge behemoth, possibly large enough to swallow the king of beasts whole. Segmented armor covered the serpent, allowing for ease of movement.

The bennu swooped closer, releasing the armored beasts into the city below. They landed with enormous crashes, shaking the earth.

The behemoths released fierce roars as they bounded off, careless of the houses or people trampled beneath their massive paws. The catoblepas, slow and lumbering, took their time, head low and sweeping to knock houses down like cards. Slithering off into the alleyways, midgardsormr’s massive size caused houses to crumble after its sharp scales scraped against the brick.

Several samurai jumped into action, engaging the massive beasts in battle to defend Insomnia.

The noise had wakened the entire citadel and many samurai lead by Clarus began to get Regis to safety. Ignis was already racing back to where Prompto slept, the prince awake and looking at the chaos outside his window anxiously.

“Your Highness!” Ignis yelled, pulling Prompto away from the window as a bennu’s wayward tail struck the building.

Ignis turned his body to shield Prompto as glass shattered inward and the wooden support beams within the walls groaned from the impact.

“What’s going on, Iggy?!” Prompto asked as Ignis dragged him out of the room.

“Insomnia is being invaded by Solheim! They want to kill the king to wrest control of the nation.”

“What about Noctis? Where is he?”

Ignis had to admit it was admirable that Prompto cared about the prince of Lucis, but Ignis had more pressing matters: doing his job to defend Prompto with his life.

“He has Gladiolus; he’s fine! My job is to protect you.”

As they turned a corner, Ignis skidded to a stop, one arm out to shield Prompto.

Prompt looked over Ignis’s arm to see why the shinobi had stopped so suddenly.

Standing at the end of the hallway stood a young man with short blond hair. He wore lightweight armor, the chest plate emblazoned with the symbol of Ifrit: spiraled horns wreathed in flames. Two swords were strapped to the man’s left hip, one atop the other.

One either side of the man were two others that Ignis couldn’t quite describe as men. Solheim was known for its machinery as well as its automatons, man-shaped machines made of wire and electricity. Melted mithril was used as their energy source, but Ignis was certain some other source was used as well.

Keeping his arm out, Ignis set his other hand on Senshi’s hilt, eyeing the man and the two automatons who stared back at him with red, soulless eyes.

They stood still, not moving until ordered to, axes gripped in their hands lowered to the ground.

“Well, well, the Niflheim prince and his little guard dog,” the man purred, flashing a crooked grin at the two. “What a pleasure to see you here.”

“Loqi,” Ignis said stiffly, not taking his eyes off the shinobi before him. “Move aside.”

“Now, is that anyway to talk to an old friend?”

“We were never friends.”

“We came from the same village that was—”

“Move aside or be cut down,” Ignis snapped, drawing Senshi and stepping in front of Prompto to further shield him.

Loqi stared at Ignis for a few seconds before he tilted his head. “Are you sure you want to challenge me? You never did have a strong stomach for bloodshed.”

“To get my charge to safety, I will do anything in my power to make it possible.” Ignis shifted his posture into a ready-for-anything stance, Senshi held up over his shoulder in the window guard position, blade pointed down. “Once again: move aside or be cut down.”

Prompto moved back as Loqi smirked. He hid around the corner to be out of the vicinity of the impending attack.

The automatons raised their axes as Loqi withdrew one of his swords.

“I’ve been waiting to fight you for years, Stupeo. And now you’re offering yourself to me.”

Ignis remained quiet, the sharpening of his gaze the only indication that the name Stupeo affected him.

The automatons moved forward first, movements stilted and jerky.

Ignis moved to the nearest one swiftly, piecing its face with Senshi before turning and swinging the blade out to send the sparking machine straight into the axe of its companion.

It seemed puzzled for a moment, waving its axe in an attempt to dislodge its friend. With its attention focused on freeing its weapon, Ignis used a swift slice to separate the automaton’s head from its shoulders. As it crumpled to the ground, Ignis faced Loqi who still wore a smug smirk.

Before either could attack there was a tremendous crash as the tail of a catoblepas sliced vertically through the citadel, creating a rift between the two shinobi. As the dust cleared and brick pieces continued to fall while the citadel struggled to support itself against the most recent attack, Ignis and Loqi launched themselves at each other, their blades connecting in a shower of sparks and screeching metal.

They pushed each other back before repeatedly striking their blades against each other until Loqi struck Ignis hard enough to send him flying out of the citadel,

“Iggy!” Prompto gasped, racing out from his spot when Loqi gave chase to where Ignis fell.

Down below, on the catoblepas’s back, the two shinobi continued to fight, Ignis trying to shake Loqi’s persistent attacks.

Prompto bit his lip, glancing around for anything that he could do to help, then ran over to the fallen automatons. One of the axes stuck in the automation had broken from its owner so Prompto grabbed the handle. Placing one foot on the automaton’s back, he yanked the axe free from where it was stuck.

The blade was still sharp and while Prompto wasn’t naturally a fighter, he had to do something to assist Ignis. He wasn’t going to cower in a corner waiting for someone to rescue him.

Holding the handle of the axe in both hands, Prompto took off into the hallway on his left to begin his search for a way out of the citadel.

Outside, Ignis was using the spikes jutting from the neck armor of the catoblepas to get up to the crown of its head as the beast raised it. Loqi was quick to follow him.

At the top of the beast’s head, Ignis could survey the full extent of damage done to Insomnia by the invasion.

Fires raged in several places from the behemoth’s breaths and many buildings had collapsed or been smashed by the giant beasts. Who knew how many people were dead. How many were injured or captured as prisoners.

“How quickly a kingdom can fall, eh?”

Ignis turned quickly, raising Senshi in preparation to attack or defend himself.

Loqi, however, had his blade lowered to his side as he stared out at the destruction below. He glanced at Ignis out of the corner of his eye with a lazy smile. “What a happy coincidence your prince was here as well. We could kill two birds with one stone.”

Ignis narrowed his eyes before he widened them in alarm.

Prompto! He had left Prompto back in the citadel without any protection!

Jumping down from the catoblepas’s head, Ignis stabbed the front of its exposed throat, using it as a way to slow his descent, blade slicing down its thick flesh with ease.

Blood spurted from the beast’s neck as it moaned from the attack, head swaying side to side.

Ignis pulled out Senshi as he got closer to the ground, landing on the blood-soaked cobblestone. He gazed up at Loqi who still stood atop the now wobbling catoblepas, blood pouring down the front of the catoblepas’ chest.

Once the beast began to tilt to the side, Loqi leaped off its head, disappearing behind some buildings. A tremendous crash resounded as the catoblepas collapsed to the ground.

Ignis flicked the blood off Senshi before sheathing the blade, then he ran off towards the citadel.

The entrance was blocked off by the rubble so Ignis took the side entrance, past the stables which were on fire.

The chocobo flapped and squawked in fear, still stuck in their pens. The mesmenir and spiracorn were in no better shape.

Ignis took a short second to unlatch their stables, freeing the trapped animals.

Bitch stared at Ignis warily as he approached but allowed him to unlatch her pen. She took off after her fellow chocobo.

“Iggy!”

Ignis turned around quickly to see Prompto running up to him. He immediately dropped to one knee as Prompto came closer, head lowered.

“My behavior was out of line. I apologize, my lord. I shouldn’t have—”

“You were still protecting me.” Prompto grabbed Ignis’s arm to haul him to his feet. “This isn’t the time anyway. What about Regalia?”

Ignis hadn’t freed the spiracorn yet. He went to her stall and opened it.

Despite the situation, she seemed calm as could be, striding out of the pen with a quiet snort.

Ignis put a hand on her neck, guiding her over to Prompto. “All right, we need to go.”

“What about Noctis?” Prompto asked, holding the axe in his hands tighter. “We can’t just leave him here!”

Ignis blew out a breath through his nose. He knew it was painful, but they had to focus on getting themselves out safely.

Prompto appeared to understand what Ignis was thinking even though it was painful. He looked at the ground. “Okay…”

“I apologize, my lord. But your health and safety are my top priority.” Ignis didn’t add that he couldn’t focus on another future monarch of a foreign country. That wasn’t his job as a shinobi to the Niflheim crown.

After figuring out a way to tie the axe handle to his belt, Prompto got onto Regalia’s back.

Ignis slid in front of Prompto. Bareback wasn’t his specialty, but he couldn’t be picky.

“Can you take us to Hammerhead?” Ignis asked, patting Regalia’s neck.

Regalia snorted then took off in a canter.

Prompto looked over his shoulder at the citadel as one of its towers buckled. He hoped Noctis was okay. He hoped the others were as well.

* * *

The sun had already set beyond the horizon by the time Ignis and Prompto had arrived in Hammerhead.

Ignis patted Regalia’s neck as he got down from the spiracorn’s back. “Thank you for the ride.”

“What’s all the commotion?” Cid complained as he came out from his workshop with an annoyed expression. He paused when he saw Ignis and Prompto. “Oh, it’s you two again. What are you doing here so quickly?”

“Insomnia was attacked,” Prompto said.

“Ah.” Cid scratched his neck. “Makes sense why Reggie came here then…”

“Reggie?” Prompto asked, tilting his head.

Waving a hand, Cid lead the two into his workshop.

Near the back of the shop, sitting on the floor, were Clarus, Iris and King Regis.

Regis smiled upon seeing the two Niflheim citizens, pushing himself to his feet with a grunt. “Ah, you two made it as well. Bahamut be praised.”

“Did you two see Gladiolus or Noctis at all?” Clarus asked, standing up.

Prompto shook his head, sighing at the question. He had hoped they had left Insomnia but now it didn’t seem so likely. “We thought they were with you.”

Iris sniffled, hugging her knees to her chest. “I hope they’re okay…”

“I’m certain they’re fine,” Regis murmured. “Gladiolus isn’t called the Stalwart Shield for nothing.”

Prompto sat beside Iris to help comfort her, putting an arm around her shoulders.

Ignis stared out the workshop’s door as if waiting to see if anyone would appear in the threshold.

“Guess I’ll get us some tea,” Cid grumbled, shuffling off into a back room.

Ignis settled himself beside Prompto. There wasn’t any point in remaining standing. If Gladiolus and Noctis did show up it wouldn’t be for a while.

* * *

Ignis continued to remain awake.

The moon had risen and the shinobi knew it was late at night. Everyone else was asleep, the fire in the blacksmith’s shop smoldering.

Ignis was waiting for Gladiolus or Noctis to show up so he could alert the others.

Outside the shop, a noise caught his attention and Ignis stood silently, unsheathing Senshi. He carefully made his way to the door, ready to fight if it was an enemy that was outside. As Ignis passed the threshold, he saw that it was only Gladiolus getting down from a chocobo.

The samurai’s movements were tender and slow, like he was injured and Ignis assumed it was quite possible that he was indeed injured.

Ignis sighed as he sheathed his blade. “Gladiolus. We have been waiting for you. Where is Prince Noctis?”

Gladiolus looked at Ignis with an unreadable expression before he approached the shinobi.

Without warning, a fist connected with Ignis’s jaw, sending him to the ground.

Flabbergasted at the unwarranted attack, Ignis pressed a hand to his aching jaw before he glared at Gladiolus. “What was that for?!”

“You Nifs are what caused this!”

“Excuse you? What gives you the right—”

“Your people were behind the invasion!”

Ignis gave a disbelieving scoff as he picked himself off, brushing his clothes free of dirt. “What are you talking about? We had nothing to do—”

“I saw your emblem,” Gladiolus hissed, jabbing at the symbol on Ignis’s clothes. “Your mark was on the armor of the invaders.”

The argument had caused the others to awaken and they arrived at the doorframe to see what was going on.

“Gladiolus,” Clarus said, walking up to his son. “You’re alone. Where is the prince?”

Gladiolus clenched his hands as his teeth bared before he pointed at Ignis. “Gone. Their people took him.”

Ignis appeared exasperated at the blame being pinned on Niflheim while Prompto looked like he wanted to step in but was afraid of getting his head bitten off by Gladiolus.

“That is quite an accusation, Gladiolus,” Regis said, stepping closer to the angered samurai. “What proof do you offer that it was indeed Niflheim’s doing?”

“The armor of their general Glauca bore the mark of Shiva.”

“Glauca?” Ignis murmured, crossing his arms as he gripped his chin.

That name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on why.

Regis looked at Prompto. “Prince Prompto?”

“It couldn’t have been Niflheim!” Prompto protested, rapidly shaking his head. “It’s a mistake! We saw that one guy…”

“Yes,” Ignis said. “Loqi Tummelt is a shinobi with Solheim. This is Solheim’s doing.”

“Then why were there Nif markings on their soldiers?” Clarus asked.

“They’re trying to make us go to war with each other,” Ignis suggested. “That’s the only explanation.”

Gladiolus was about to say something but was silenced when Regis held up a hand.

“It seems we have no definite proof. Ignis says he saw Solheim colors while Gladiolus says it was Niflheim. The bigger matter is this: Noctis has been kidnapped and we need to retrieve him.”

“Prince Prompto!” someone called.

Everyone turned to see a young shinobi running up to the group, breathless. The shinobi dropped to his knee several feet away from Prompto, ducking his head in respect.

“Another Nif shinobi,” Gladiolus grumbled.

He received an elbow to the ribs by Clarus in response. Gladiolus gave a slight flinch in response and Ignis noticed it. His ribs were probably bruised if not cracked. Possibly whatever he had done in order to keep Noctis safe.

“Naiten?” Prompto asked, walking over to the shinobi. “What are you doing here?”

Naiten stared up at Prompto with wide eyes. “I came to warn Your Highness about the attack on Niflheim!”

Prompto paled, feeling as if the world had slipped out from under his feet. “What?”

“Solheim launched an invasion on Niflheim a few days ago. I came as quickly as ships would allow, Your Highness.”

“Is His Majesty the Emperor all right?” Ignis asked.

Naiten nodded. “Yes. We have him hidden in a bunker.”

Prompto gave a relieved sigh, closing his eyes as he set a hand against his chest to calm his heart. “Thank Shiva…”

“Thank you for the information,” Ignis murmured. “Return to Niflheim with news that Prompto is safe as well and that Insomnia has fallen to Solheim’s clutches.”

Naiten nodded before he bowed then ran off.

“Solheim is behind this then,” Clarus said, giving a look at Gladiolus.

Gladiolus grumbled at the meaning of his father’s stare before giving a muttered, “Sorry for accusing you.”

The tension eased slightly between Gladiolus and Ignis, but it still hung thick in the air, ready to snap at the slightest breeze.

“What does Solheim want with Noctis, though?” Prompto asked, looking at Regis. “Is he even alive?”

“He is,” Regis said with a slow sigh. “I’m afraid that they want to use him to find the Crystal and they need him alive to do that.”

“Crystal?” Prompto repeated. “What’s that?”

“A sentient chunk of, well, crystal that chooses every new Lucis successor as its host, shall we say. If one can complete certain tasks, the Crystal will grant immortality.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea why I had written down that Loqi and Ignis knew each other before I knew what I was writing but now I like it? So there's that.  
> Also yeah. Two sides of the story now: What Noctis is doing and what the others are doing.  
> And don't worry, others will show up as well. Eventually.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back on this again? Maybe xD  
> I also may do a FFVII fic too but I'm still heavily thinking it over  
> Enjoy!

The alarm reverberated through the citadel and sunk into Noctis’s bones, waking him up from his sleep.

Grumbling, Noctis stretched his arms out in front of him, arching like a cat. He groggily looked over his shoulder to see if saw anything out the window and saw nothing. Deciding that the alarm was another prank, Noctis flopped over on his other side, throwing the pillow over his head to muffle the sound. He had just begun to return to sleep when the door to his room slammed open and someone yanked the pillow off his head.

“I can’t believe you’re trying to sleep through an invasion!” Gladiolus huffed, grabbing the back of Noctis’ collar and hauling him out of bed.

“Invasion?” Noctis mumbled, rubbing his eyes as Gladiolus set him on his feet. “What are you talking about?”

“We’re being invaded! Come on, you idiot, we have to go!”

Before Noctis could even complain about still being in his night clothes, Gladiolus had grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room. He stumbled behind the samurai before beginning to run as his adrenaline kicked in, spiking up his heart rate.

Gladiolus released his grip on Noctis’s arm once he was sure the prince was following him.

“Wait, who’s invading us?”

“I don’t know, but they have a lot a large monsters!”

They turned down a long hallway with enormous windows and Noctis glanced outside to see that the city was on fire and being razed by behemoths, catoblepas, and midgardsormr. A black shadow soared past, striking several houses with the tips of its wings. Noctis recognized it as a bennu, a cousin to the zu that lived in the higher altitudes of Lucis.

Noctis looked back at Gladiolus as he caught up to the samurai. “Wait, where’s dad? What happened to dad?”

“Clarus has him. They’re already on their way out.”

“What about Prompto and his shinobi? We have to help them!”

“We can’t help them and keep you safe,” Gladiolus huffed, rolling his eyes. “Besides, that shinobi can handle himself. We need to get to the tunnels.”

“Tunnels?” Noctis repeated, furrowing his eyebrows.

He had heard of the tunnels beneath the citadel made to spirit away royalty should an invasion happen. He hadn’t thought they actually existed since even after scouring the entirety of the citadel as a kid he hadn’t found any signs of a tunnel or an entrance to one.

“They’ll lead us to Hammerhead quicker than if we took the roads,” Gladiolus grumbled, glancing around as they came to a crossing hallway. “We’ll be safe there.”

Noctis nodded. His dad would be there before them. Noctis hoped they got there safely. He continued to follow Gladiolus who kept a hand on the shaft of his great sword, ready to use it in the event they were attacked.

As they passed a window, Noctis paused to see the devastation laid on his city by the monsters that had been set loose upon it. Whoever was attacking was going to regret it. The thirst for revenge was beginning to burn a hole in his veins.

“Hurry up!” Gladiolus snapped, glancing at Noctis over his shoulder. “This isn’t the time to gawk!”

Glancing at the ruined city once more, Noctis trotted after Gladiolus, silently vowing to bring wrath upon the attackers in one way or another. “I can defend myself. I have the Crystal’s blessing.”

“That doesn’t matter! You have no weapon attached to it right now. What are you going to do, use your fishing rod to beat attackers to death?”

Noctis frowned, trying to look offended, but it came out as more of a pout. “You don’t know. I could surprise you.”

“Until you can prove me wrong, I’m tasked with protecting you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Noctis grumbled before heaving a sigh. “You always say that.”

“Because it’s true.” Gladiolus slowed to a stop and faced Noctis. “The Amicitia family have been samurai guards to your family for generations and no matter how much of a brat you are, I will not stop in the duty my bloodline brings.”

Noctis smirked, crossing his arms. “Thought you hated sappy stuff.”

“You bring out the sap in me, princess.”

Noctis rolled his eyes at the nickname, but didn’t bother trying to counter it.

“Your little banter, while sickeningly adorable, is about to end here.”

At the voice, Gladiolus immediately whirled around, sword swinging over his shoulder to rest in front of him.

Noctis kept close to Gladiolus, looking around the samurai as someone approached them from a hallway to the left.

The dark-haired man approaching them appeared to be middle-aged but wore the armor of samurai. The armor was black with a few red stripes. A snowflake with ice trailing behind it was emblazoned right in the middle of the armor.

Gladiolus’s eyes caught sight of the emblem in the man’s breastplate, recognizing it as Shiva’s mark.

“Niflheim,” he muttered, scowling at the man in front of him. “I should have known this wasn’t a simple treaty visit…”

“Prompto wouldn’t do this,” Noctis whispered, grabbing Gladiolus’ arm with a firm shake of his head. “It’s a mistake.”

“When I get ahold of that blond, I’ll see how much of a mistake it is…”

“I’ll take the prince now,” the man said, holding out a hand. “Hand him over.”

“Over my dead body.” Gladiolus shifted his stance into a more powerful one, expecting a fight.

Appearing annoyed, the man lowered his hand. “That can be arranged, little samurai.”

Noctis backed up a bit to be out of range of the impending battle.

The man withdrew two long swords, holding them by his sides. He tapped one against the ground before charging at Gladiolus who held up Hardedge to block the strike.

Gladiolus used his strength to shove the man back before taking a step forward, swinging Hardedge out horizontally.

Flipping backward to avoid the swipe, the man landed nimbly on his feet then charged Gladiolus once more, both swords raised for attack.

While the two clashed again, Noctis caught sight of something outside and looked to see a catoblepas standing not too far away, the moonlight and flames glinting off its armor.

A spray of blood was blooming lengthwise down the front of its neck as if something were actively cutting it. There was a small dot on its head but whoever it was, was too far away to recognize. As the catoblepas collapsed, smashing houses beneath its weight, the person leaped off the head, landing in the streets below. They made their way towards the citadel.

Noctis wondered if it was Ignis coming back for something. Coming back for him and Gladiolus?

As the person came closer to the citadel, Noctis spotted the armor glinting off the fires from the burning homes.

 _Not Ignis,_ Noctis thought, quickly stepping away from the window as instinct told him that it wasn’t a safe spot.

His instinct was right as seconds later, a blond man appeared right at the window, using the butt of his sword to shatter the glass.

At the noise, Gladiolus turned briefly to face the newcomer but had to take his attention off the blond when the man he was engaged in battle with struck his sword again.

The blond smirked at Noctis as he stepped into the room, careless of the glass on the floor. He looked over to Gladiolus and the man. “Toying with him, are we now, Caligo?”

The man, Caligo, used a stronger than normal attack against Gladiolus’ block, the strike sending the samurai sliding back until he hit a wall. “What? They didn’t say I couldn’t have a bit of fun.”

Shaking his head, the blond turned his attention back to Noctis. “Hello, Prince Noctis. My name is Loqi and you’re coming with me.”

Noctis snorted. “Fat chance of that. Gladio isn’t going to let you.”

“Gladio?” Loqi tilted his head, his expression turning into a pout. “You mean your samurai? Well, that can be easily take care of then.”

Caligo caught Loqi’s eyes and upon receiving a mild nod, grinned. “Been waiting to cut loose. No hard feelings, samurai. Just business.”

Before Gladiolus could straighten to counterattack, Caligo’s swords began to glow and the man rushed the samurai, one sword slamming into Hardedge which Gladiolus brought up to block.

Caligo continued to strike the sword, each one harder and faster than the last.

The relentless attack and Gladiolus’s back pressed against the wall began to cause the wall to crack under the pressure until it finally gave way.

With one more powerful strike, Caligo sent Gladiolus flying out of the newly created hole, the samurai dropping to the ground below.

“Gladio!” Noctis yelled, taking a step forward.

Cold steel pressed against the side of Noctis’s neck and he immediately halted when the sword’s sharp edge bit lightly into his skin, drawing a thin line of blood.

“I wouldn’t move if I were you, prince,” Loqi said, smirking at Noctis. “Like I said, you’re coming with me.”

“How about you just slit my throat and get it over with?” Noctis hissed.

“While I would like nothing more than to do that, you’re requested.”

Noctis snorted. “By who?”

“The leader of Solheim.”

“Solheim?” Noctis asked in surprise.

If they were Solheim, why were they wearing Niflheim armor? Were they trying to start a war between Niflheim and Lucis again? A quick glance at Loqi’s armor showed Noctis the mark of Ifrit. He wondered why this guy was showing his true colors while the other, Caligo, was wearing Niflheim armor. Where had they even gotten the armor from?

“You’re going to be an utter pain,” Loqi muttered, withdrawing his sword from Noctis’s neck. “So, for the duration of the trip, I think it’s best that you just take a nap.”

Flipping his sword around, Loqi slammed the butt of the hilt against the back of Noctis’s neck, the prince crumpling to the ground.

Caligo grunted. “ Let’s get back.”

“Maybe I can kill him later,” Loqi mumbled to himself as he picked the unconscious Noctis up around the waist.

“If you keep His Lordship’s favor.”

“Oh, I will do more than that if I can have the chance to spill this brat’s blood.”

* * *

The back of his neck throbbed.

Noctis tried to reach up to rub the hurting area but found that his hands were bound behind his back. Grunting, Noctis pried his eyes open and glanced around to see where he was.

He could see a door in front of him with bars and heard the faint squawks of a chocobo. Wriggling his shoulders a bit to see if he could loosen the binds around his wrists a bit, Noctis shifted himself so he could sit up against one of the cart’s walls.

“Hey! This is a fun field trip and all, but I’d like to go back home now.”

“Shut up,” Loqi grumbled from the driver’s seat. “You were nicer when you were unconscious.”

“Well, I am pleasant to be around.”

Loqi rolled his eyes, gripping the reins of the chocobo tighter. He had to resist taking the bait that Noctis was so obviously laying out for him.

“So, hey, you know, don’t people usually give prisoners their last meal or something? If so, I want some king’s stew and mother and son rice and—”

Loqi gave a frustrated growl, banging the wall of the cage behind him. “Shut up before I cut out your tongue so you can’t talk!”

Noctis grinned, settling back a bit.

Loqi was too easily riled and it was fun to irritate him.

A short time later, the carriage stopped and the door opened to show Caligo and Loqi. Before they could order him out, Noctis was already standing and moving to the door. He hopped to the ground, shaking off Caligo’s hand when the samurai grabbed his arm.

“I can walk on my own.”

Caligo mockingly held up his hands in surrender before he bowed with one arm swept out, allowing Noctis to take the lead.

Noctis gazed up at the enormous castle in front of him, the walls of it armed with Sols carrying different types of guns. He definitely didn’t want to get hit by one of those.

The castle was made out of some sort of black stone that reflected the sunlight, making the surface of the walls shine. Right in the middle of the front portion of the castle was Solheim’s coat of arms: Ifrit’s horns covered in flames.

As they entered the castle, Noctis noticed the red carpet running down the center of the tile flooring leading to the throne room.

“This guy sure is gaudy, isn’t he?” Noctis muttered, spotting the many jade vases and marble statues lining either side of the walls.

He had expected armor or weapons, not something so common or flamboyant.

Pictures hung up on the walls showed what Noctis assumed was the history of Solheim or perhaps the history that the dictator chose to reveal. Some of the pictures contained Ifrit and others contained previous dictators.

Loqi and Caligo moved in front of Noctis to open the large double doors to the throne room. The doors had Ifrit’s symbol emblazoned right in the center and it split in half as the doors slowly opened.

Sitting on the throne at the end of the room was the man of the hour. He was younger than Noctis had thought he would be or at least he was younger than he thought a dictator would be.

His short hair was red-orange, but Noctis wondered if that wasn’t his real hair color and it was dyed to look more like the sun. His eyes were a green light enough to be called yellow and he wore extravagant robes: white with sun symbols on the sleeves. The edges of the sleeves were gold with portions of the fabric red. On the breast was Ifrit’s mark and at the dictator’s hip was a thin sheathed sword that looked more like it was for decoration rather than for battle.

Caligo and Loqi grabbed Noctis by the back of the shirt to stop him.

Caligo bowed deeply. “Your Radiance, we’ve captured the Lucian Prince as you requested.”

“I can see that,” the dictator murmured, rising from his seat, brushing a hand down the front of his robes. “Welcome to Solheim, Prince Noctis. My name is Solais, the—”

“Dictator extraordinaire. Yes, I’m aware,” Noctis drawled.

Loqi growled, withdrawing his sword to teach Noctis not to speak back to Solais but he halted when Solais held up a hand.

“No, it’s quite all right. I like his spark.”

With a grumble, Loqi replaced his sword back in its sheath and stepped back as Solais approached.

Solais smiled at Noctis pleasantly but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Do you know why I’ve called you here?”

Noctis scoffed in disbelief. “Called me here? You invaded my country and kidnapped me!”

“Hm. That tends to happen, I’m afraid.” Solais began to circle Noctis who kept a wary eye on him.

Noctis felt like a young garula being cornered by a coeurl, waiting for it to pounce.

“I’ll ask once again, nicely. Do you understand the reason I’ve brought you here, Prince Noctis?”

“If this is your nice, I’d hate to see your not nice then,” Noctis mumbled under his breath.

Solais heard Noctis’s words and reacted by slamming his sheathed sword into Noctis’s stomach.

When the prince doubled over from the pain, Solais grabbed the back of his neck and slammed him to the ground. He straightened, using a foot to keep Noctis pinned to the ground.

Solais stared down at Noctis coldly. “I’m done playing games, boy. Tell me where the Crystal is.”

Noctis stared at Solais with a dumb expression for a few seconds, like he didn’t know what Solais was speaking of, before he gasped. “Oh, right, the Crystal. The Crystal specifically designed to grant immortality. The immortality Crystal. _That_ Crystal?”

Solais pressed his foot harder against Noctis’s neck, cutting off his air supply briefly. “Tell me where it is before I slice your throat.”

“Do that and you’ll never get the Crystal,” Noctis wheezed.

Solais hummed, lifting his foot slightly. “Ready to cooperate?”

Noctis sighed as the pressure left his neck. “You can’t just _get_ the Crystal. You have to do a very specific ritual to even hope to discover its location.”

“He’s lying,” Loqi hissed. “Don’t listen to him.”

Solais held up a hand to silence Loqi before kneeling in front of Noctis, a smile plastered on his face. “Explain the ritual to me then.”

“The chosen one of the Crystal—that’s me—has to get the weapons of my ancestors and gain the blessings of the Gods. Once that’s done, I have to find out where the Ring of Lucii is hidden. Only then will the Crystal reveal its location to me.”

Solais smirked. “Why, that sounds easy.”

“You have to gain the Gods’ blessing in a specific order,” Noctis said. “Titan, Ramuh, Leviathan, Shiva, Ifrit, and Bahamut. They’re all over Eos, waiting to be awakened.”

“You’ll find the Crystal for me,” Solais whispered, patting Noctis’s head then gripping his hair tightly, scowling in warning about the consequences of not obeying him. “Won’t you, Prince Noctis?”

Noctis grinned, despite the pain in his scalp. “That requires me to return to Lucis.”

“Fat chance!” Loqi snapped.

“Titan and Ramuh are in Lucis as are the tombs of my ancestors. If I don’t gain the Gods’ blessing in the order I mentioned then no Crystal for you. Ever.”

Solais hummed as he stood up, stepping over Noctis to make his way back to his throne.

“You can’t be seriously considering what he says, Your Radiance,” Caligo said, taking a few steps forward. “He could be lying to us.”

“And that is why you two will accompany him to Lucis and make sure he isn’t,” Solais said, reclining back in his throne. “And to keep him in line.”

Noctis grunted as he forced himself into a sitting position, grinning at Solais. “So, we have a deal then, your royal assness?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And yeah Solais is a play on sol, meaning sun xD


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back, back, back again?  
> I am! Dunno how many missed this story or even cared it stopped for a few months but whatever.  
> Anyway. Enjoy sassy Prompto, me fucking around with recipehs, lots of eye closing, and Bitch.

Cid held out a cup to Ignis.

“Thank you,” Ignis murmured, talking to the cup.

Cid grunted as he moved over to where Regis sat. Cid was kind enough to allow the group to spend the night in his garage since it was too dangerous to leave Hammerhead, especially since they had no plan on where they wanted to go.

Prompto was leaning against a wall, sitting on the floor close to the furnace for warmth. He was asleep, Iris leaning against him.

Iris appeared comfortable huddled against Prompto, gripping his robes in her sleep.

Prompto mumbled in his sleep, cheek pressed against the top of Iris’s head before he returned to quiet snoring.

Off to the side, Gladiolus had shed his armor and shirt while Clarus checked over the injury that his son had been dealt. Dark bruises were already blossomed on Gladiolus’s chest where Caligo’s weapon had shoved Hardedge.

Clarus was running his hands down the sides of Gladiolus’s chest, testing for any signs of broken or cracked ribs, his face pensive.

Regis sat on a nearby chair, his injured leg stretched out. The escape had strained it and Cid had made sure Regis didn’t sit on the floor and cause further injury. He held a cup of tea in both hands, eyes closed in what Ignis assumed was prayer.

Ignis’s eyes flicked back down to the steaming cup of tea he held in his hand. He wasn’t a religious man. There wasn’t any reason to be religious after everything he had been through in his life. With a sigh, Ignis briefly closed his eyes before he breathed in the earthy aroma of the tea.

Schier turmeric tea mixed with hulldagh nutmeg. The nutmeg masked the bitter flavor of the turmeric, melting it into a bittersweet flavor with a hint of cloves. A cube of sugar dissolved into the tea neutralized any excess bitter taste, making the tea more palatable.

Taking a sip and savoring the tea’s flavor, Ignis closed his eyes as it warmed his stomach and bones. He turned his attention to Regis. “King Regis?”

Regis slowly opened his eyes, looking towards Ignis, expression tired and older than he had been a few days before.

“Can you fully explain the Crystal to me so I may understand exactly why Solheim wants Prince Noctis?”

Regis inclined his head. “I’ll explain what I know. The Crystal has been in the custody of the Lucis Caelums for as long as we have known. It was supposedly created by Bahamut, though I’m not sure how much faith to put into that.”

Ignis nodded, closing his eyes as he took another sip of his tea. “So the Crystal has always been hidden and only the one chosen by the Crystal can discover its location.”

“Correct.”

“Can its power be used on the kings themselves?”

“No.” Regis shook his head. “The power the Crystal provides is forbidden from Lucian kings as a safeguard to prevent our monarchy from becoming a tyranny.”

That made sense. An immortal king forever ruling over Lucis would be disastrous. Solheim must have known that the kings couldn’t use the power for themselves and sought it instead.

“What would happen if Noctis refused to do as Solheim commands?” Ignis asked, raising an eyebrow. “Or he does the ritual in the wrong order?”

“If he fails to complete the ritual in the correct order then the power of the Crystal will be locked away until the next chosen is born.”

“And I’m certain they wouldn’t dare kill him,” Ignis mumbled, mostly to himself as he stared at his reflection in the tea cup.

Regis had only one heir. If Noctis was killed, that prevented Solheim from getting what they wanted: immortality. Regis would not produce another heir and Solheim was well aware. They would take care of Noctis well while he did as they demanded.

Regis made a low moan at the back of his throat, hands tightening on this cup. “My son is alive, but I don’t know for how long. I failed as a father and as a king. Insomnia has fallen into the hands of the Sols because I didn’t think of them as a threat. Whatever remains of my city’s population have been taken prisoner and I can do nothing but watch from a distance.”

Ignis understood how Regis felt, watching the fall of something precious to you and unable to do anything to change or stop it. Ignis closed his eyes, bowing his head and remaining silent.

Clarus had finished checking over Gladiolus’ injuries and while his son replaced his chest plate, Clarus stood and made his way to Regis’ side. Kneeling down, he set a hand on Regis’s arm then pressed his forehead against Regis’ shoulder.

Regis closed his eyes at the act of comfort, relaxing against the firm grip Clarus had on him.

After several seconds, Clarus raised his head and cast a look at both Gladiolus and Ignis. “You two should rest. We’ll figure out a plan in the morning.”

Gladiolus bit his lip to stop himself from saying something and nodded. He settled back against the wall, laying Hardedge across his lap.

Ignis set the teacup on the ground next to him as he shifted into a comfortable position. Senshi remained by his side and he gripped the sheath tightly. The weapon grounded Ignis as he closed his eyes to sleep; his senses remained heightened, listening for any possibility of an ambush during the night, as his body slept the aches and exhaustion away.

* * *

The sound of a steady beat of metal clanging against metal, brought Ignis out of his sleep.

Sometime in the middle of the night he had slid into a slump, Senshi clutched in his arms.

Straightening, Ignis briefly rubbed his arm cross his eyes to clear out the sleep before glancing around. He saw no sign of Prompto and was instantly on his feet.

Clarus and Regis were near a wall, poring over a map and quietly murmuring amongst themselves.

Gladiolus, Iris and Prompto were nowhere to be seen.

The clanging stopped and Ignis turned this attention to the noise to see Cid holding a molten weapon in the shape of a sword.

“If yer lookin’ for yer charge, he went off a while ago to the shop to gather ingredients for breakfast.” Cid went back to slamming the mallet against the fire-hot metal, sparks flying. “Said you should sleep more and he had Iris and Gladio with him.”

The tension left Ignis and he sighed, his shoulders relaxing. “Thank you.”

Sliding Senshi back into his belt, Ignis left the blacksmith shop and made his way to the shop next door. He didn’t have to go far. As he got near the entrance, Prompto came out with Iris and Gladiolus behind him, laughing at whatever they were talking about.

In his arms, Prompto carried a basket filled with ingredients. Ignis could pick out Eos green peas, the claws of a shieldshear beast, and several eggs.

“Prompto.”

Prompto grinned when he saw Ignis. “Hey. We got some ingredients for breakfast.” He held out the basket so Ignis could see all that he got. “You think you could make breakfast?”

“I…do not have the bag.” Ignis shook his head. “I cannot cook without the pots I brought with us.”

“We bought some pots,” Gladiolus said with a faint smile as he crossed his arms.

Ignis was about to protest more—who was paying for everything? What exactly did they want for breakfast? —when he looked down as someone grabbed his hand.

Iris stared up at him in excitement. “Can you make breakfast? Your cooking was so good last night and Gladio couldn’t stop talking about it.”

“Shut up, you brat.”

Iris stuck her tongue out at Gladiolus.

Ignis breathed out, his expression softening at Iris’s earnestness before he nodded. “Yes, I can make something from the ingredients you’ve obtained.”

Iris cheered, jumping in the air, as Prompto grinned.

The group returned to Cid’s shop and Ignis approached the blacksmith.

“May I use your furnace to make breakfast for everyone?”

Cid groaned, rubbing his chin as he closed one eye to stare at the shinobi critically. “Normally, I don’t allow nothing but weapons to go into my furnace, but since yer gunna make all of us some grub, I suppose I can allow it this one time.”

Ignis bowed. “Thank you, Sir Cid. I shouldn’t be long.”

Cid gave a grunt and a flap of his hand as he shuffled over to Regis.

Ignis kneeled down to begin picking through the ingredients Prompto had gathered. The prince had bought enough to feed everything even though he hadn’t known what Ignis would make.

Staring at one of the birdbeast eggs, Ignis thought about what he could do with it before snapping his fingers.

An omelet with cut up crab meat from the claws of the shieldshear and Eos green peas. He could make a sauce with the Lucian tomatoes, wild onion, salt, and olive oil.

With that settled, Ignis began to pull out all the pans and cooking items Prompto had bought. He hadn’t even known the shop had sold cooking utensils.

“Do you mind if I help?” Gladiolus asked, coming to stand behind Ignis.

Ignis glanced at him out of the corner of his eye before he went back to methodically cracking each birdbeast egg into a bowl to be mixed. “There is no reason for you to help me. You’ve already held up your end of the bargain.”

“I want to.” Gladiolus knelt down. “You don’t have to accept of course. I just think it isn’t fair that you’re once again cooking for us since you and the prince are our guests.”

“It’s all right. I doubt anyone else here can cook and I imagine you’ll all want something to eat before we leave.”

Gladiolus remained silent, not asking if he could help again, and was rewarded with the basket of green peas being slid towards him.

“If you could take these out of their shell, please.”

Gladiolus nodded and began to carefully pry the peas out of their shell. He made no comment on how it was weird a shinobi could cook, deciding it was best to not create unnecessary tension.

“What will you all do?” Ignis asked as he stirred the eggs into a golden slurry. “After this, I mean.”

“Well, Iris, His Majesty, and my dad are going to Galdin Quay to catch a boat to Altissia. They’ll be safe there.”

Altissia was a neutral territory. They had an accord with both Niflheim and Lucis so if Solheim even dared to try and invade them, they would be met with resistance. It would be a safe place, Ignis hoped.

Solheim had the one advantage of their machines and automatons. If Solheim sought war, however, it would be them against the rest of the world.

“What about you?” Ignis glanced at Gladiolus. “Will you go after His Highness?”

“I’m his shield. I have to.” Gladiolus sighed, closing his eyes. “They’re bound to return here. I’m not sure where they’ll land, but they’ll head to one of the thirteen royal tombs scattered around Lucis.”

“I see.”

“What about you and the prince? Niflheim isn’t safe to return to so where will you go?”

Ignis remained silent for several seconds as he cracked open one of the shieldshear claws. “I am uncertain. There is no reason for us to remain here, however. You’re right in that we can’t return to Niflheim. I suppose we can join King Regis to Altissia.”

“I’m not going to Altissia!” Prompto snapped, jumping to his feet.

Ignis looked at the prince in surprise. He hadn’t been aware Prompto had been close enough to them to eavesdrop. “My Lord, we cannot remain here—”

“I’m going with Gladio to find Noct!”

Ignis stared at Prompto impassively for a while before he sighed and stood up after setting down the shieldshear claw. “My Lord, we cannot go galivanting across Eos to search for the prince of another nation.”

“A nation that _we’re_ friends with!”

“For the King, not his son.” Ignis shook his head. “You are not the emperor and you cannot make that decision.”

Prompto glared at Ignis, crossing his arms. “So, you’re not going to help him? Cause he’s not the king and I’m not the emperor?”

“We have to focus on your safety first and foremost, My Lord.”

“My lord, my lord, my lord,” Prompto mocked, his scowl deepening. “We’re friends, Ignis!”

“We are nothing more than prince and retainer. These notions of friendship are all your concoctions.”

All the anger and frustration left Prompto’s face and posture, replaced by wounded eyes and a pained expression.

Gladiolus flicked his eyes between the two, sensing the prince’s heartbreak, and mumbled, “Hey now. Being friends with your charge isn’t so bad. It’s because of my friendship with Noct that I’m able to do a better job as his retainer.”

“What a lot of good that did you,” Ignis snarked, scowling at Gladiolus. “Your friendship didn’t save Prince Noctis from being kidnapped.”

“Hey! I didn’t think this would happen! None of us expected it to happen, so lay off, you damn shinobi!”

Before Ignis could retort, Prompto clenched his hands as he whispered, “You’d do something if it were me.”

Ignis’ ire at Gladiolus faded and he glanced at Prompto who was staring at the ground and trembling slightly. “My Lord?”

“You’d do something if it were me that was kidnapped, wouldn’t you?” Prompto asked, looking up sharply. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. “Wouldn’t you?!”

Ignis opened his mouth then sighed, closing his eyes. Prompto had him cornered; he was right. Ignis would do anything in his ability to retrieve his charge if he were taken.

“Yes. I would.”

“Noctis is my friend. My first and only friend, apparently. I want to—no, I _am_ —going with Gladio to find him.” Prompto set his jaw as he stared at Ignis with determination. “Whether you come with or not is entirely up to you. I could care less. Finish making breakfast.”

The direct order startled Ignis, twisting something inside him that was painful and left a sour taste in his mouth.

“Of course,” Ignis murmured as Prompto stalked off to where Iris was playing with some flower stems. He slowly knelt down, picking up the shieldshear claw.

Gladiolus watched the shinobi out of the corner of his eye, noticing the blank look in his eyes. Something told him that Prompto had never reacted that way around Ignis before and it had stunned the shinobi by the drastic behavior change.

Gladiolus stared down at the shelled green pea in his hand before he continued to de-shell the peas.

* * *

After everyone had eaten breakfast, Prompto asked Regis where the royal tombs were. Regis used a map of Eos to mark where the tombs were.

“Thank you for this,” Regis murmured, handing the map back to Prompto. “You don’t have to.”

“Noctis is my friend,” Prompto said. “I have to help him.”

“You owe us nothing.”

“I owe you my friendship. And our treaty as well. An enemy of Lucis is an enemy of Niflheim.”

Regis smiled softly, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He set a hand on Prompto’s shoulder. “You’re very brave. I pray you find my son and teach those Sol bastards a lesson they’ll never forget.”

Prompto nodded. “Leave it to me.”

“Do you mind if we continue to use Regalia?” Gladiolus asked. “We’ll need mounts to reach our destination before the Sols do.”

Regis nodded. “Of course not. I’m sure you’ll want a third mount as well.”

“Well….” Prompto glanced at Ignis who stood at a distance, staring at them impassively.

“You’ll need a third mount,” Regis insisted, pulling out a small whistle and blowing into it.

The shrill whistle echoed and as if by magic, Bitch trotted over to the group.

“We can’t ride her,” Prompto protested. “She tried to bite off Ignis’ arm!”

“She owes you. Owes your shinobi. She knows that.”

Bitch walked over to Ignis and stared at him for several seconds before dipping her head.

Ignis sensed her resolve to not only find her master, but to repay her debt to him for saving her life. Reaching out a hand, Ignis set it on her neck and Bitch stared at him.

“I understand,” Ignis murmured. “Thank you.”

Prompto smiled, a slow hopeful sensation welling up within his chest. “Iggy?”

Ignis approached Prompto and set a hand against is chest, bowing. “I’ll follow you in your quest. My oath was to follow you no matter what and I intend to live up to that promise.”

Prompto’s smiled widened and he jumped forward to squeeze Ignis in a hug. “Thank you!”

Ignis remained stiff in the embrace before he relaxed, closing his eyes but not returning the hug. “You’re welcome.”

“Then we should begin plotting our route,” Gladiolus said. “We need to figure out where their first target is.”

Prompto released Ignis so he could pull out his map. “Well, the closest two tombs are by Keycatrich Trench.”

Gladiolus came to stand behind Prompto so he could look at the map. “Both are about two days from here.”

“How far is Solheim from here?” Ignis asked. “Perhaps we should figure that out first before we determine our plan of attack.”

“If they come by bennu, then it’s about four days.” Gladiolus crossed his arms, staring at the map pensively. “Perhaps they won’t even go to those tombs.”

Prompto glanced at Gladiolus. “What do you mean?”

“You’re right,” Ignis said, startled at the clever idea Gladiolus had. “They could assume we’ll go to Keycatrich Trench and will instead go to another tomb.”

“The farthest one away is in the Cleign region by the Vesperpool.” Gladiolus pointed to the tomb. “It's in the Myrlwood. From here, the Vesperpool is a week or longer.”

Prompto bit his lip as he stared at the map in his hands, eyes flicking between the two tombs as he wondered if Solheim would indeed fake them out by going to the farthest tomb. Another mark caught his attention and he pointed to it. “What about if we go here?”

Gladiolus looked at the mark. “Huh, there’s a tomb by Calatein’s Plunge?”

“Where should we go there, My Lord?” Ignis questioned.

“Well…if it takes four days to reach Lucis from Solheim then…we won’t be at the Vesperpool in that time.”

“He’s right,” Gladiolus gasped. “We’d miss them.”

“I see…” Ignis murmured, already figuring out Prompto’s plan. “You assume they’ll go to the Plunge once they finish the tomb in the Myrlwood. We can wait for them there and take Noctis back.”

Prompto nodded. “Yeah! It’s…is it a good idea?”

Gladiolus nodded, slapping a hand on Prompto’s back. “That’s a badass idea, chocobo prince! It just might work!”

Prompto brightened, pleased at the praise.

“I suggest we get moving while we have light,” Ignis said. “We should be able to make it to this haven.”

The shinobi pointed to a haven marked by the Astor Slough, Pullmoor Haven.

Gladiolus nodded. “Right. We need to reach Calatein’s Plunge as soon as possible.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would have gotten this up sooner but I want to be accurate with the time length and then I went fuck it and decided a week or more is long enough xD


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost stopped on this cause I only got one review last chapter but then I decided I don't give a fuck.

“I am not getting on that death trap,” Noctis said with blunt finality as he crossed his arms.

Loqi gave a frustrated growl, hands clenching. “You will get on it if you value your life.”

“Pft. You can’t do anything to me.” Noctis smirked. “You need me.”

Loqi released a string of indecipherable words, stomping in a circle as he threw his hands in the air.

The two samurai had led Noctis through a hangar that contained flying machines and enormous robotic tanks equipped with various weapons. Noctis hadn’t asked what they were for; he knew what they were for. A lone bennu stood at the back of the hangar, stripped of its armor.

The bennu continued to stare at the three, waiting for commands.

“Look,” Caligo growled. “You either get up into the saddle or we’ll fly you to Lucis in its claws.”

Noctis narrowed his eyes at Caligo, challenging him.

Caligo grossed his arms, staring at Noctis impassively.

After a bit, Noctis gave a frustrated huff. “Fine. It better not eat me.”

“They’re well-behaved,” Caligo assured, snapping his fingers.

The bennu stretched out its neck, laying its head on the floor. A saddle was strapped onto its neck, right by its shoulders.

Noctis eyed the bennu warily as he stepped closer, grabbing onto the saddle before pulling himself up into it.

The bennu chirped quietly as Caligo and Loqi pulled themselves into the seat fastened onto its head.

The bennu straightened its head as the roof above began to slide open.

“Does this thing have any safety straps or something?” Noctis asked, glancing around for anything he could use to hold onto.

“Nope,” Loqi responded without looking back at the Lucian prince. “I’d hold on tight if I were you.”

Noctis glared holes into the back of Loqi’s head, gripping the edge of the saddle tightly as the bennu’s wings opened. “Why aren’t we just using one of your cruisers to fly to Lucis?”

“They’re not as fast as a bennu,” Caligo said. “We’ll get there faster by bennu.”

“Now pipe down and stay piped down,” Loqi growled.

Noctis grumbled to himself while the bennu stretched its neck up, wings along its skull opening and closing.

Caligo had hold of the reins attached to the bit in the bennu’s beak. He slapped them once and the bennu began flapping its wings, lifting off the ground in a flurry of wind and loose feathers.

Noctis held onto the saddle even tighter, knuckles turning white, as he screwed his eyes shut. He didn’t like this one bit. Nope. His stomach fell as the bennu rose higher into the air, refusing to open his eyes.

The Sols were definitely trying to kill him.

Loqi glanced over his shoulder at the stiff Noctis and smirked, pleased to see the prince’s fright. Maybe this would keep him in line.

Noctis kept himself pressed against the saddle to prevent a gust of wind from knocking him off the bennu. He didn’t want to look. If he did, he knew he’d regret it.

“Are you sure you don’t want to enjoy this view?” Loqi asked casually, leaning back in his seat without a care in the world. “You sure are missing out.”

“You’re crazy!” Noctis snapped, shaking his head. He was not going to look no matter what.

“Your loss.”

Everything went silent. The only noises were the whistling wind and the lazy flapping of the bennu’s wings. Bennu were built to glide for long distances without rest.

A bit longer and Noctis cautiously opened an eye.

The bennu was gliding over the ocean that separated Solheim from Lucis, flapping its wings leisurely.

Noctis stared down at the water beneath them, siting up slightly. The water was clear and he saw a few dolphins beneath the surface chasing fish.

Caligo glanced at Noctis over his shoulder before he pulled on the reins, forcing the bennu to fly lower until the tips of its wings skimmed the water.

The bennu chirped quietly, dipping its head low enough to scoop up fish that swam close to the surface.

Curious, Noctis held onto the saddle with one hand, leaning down to touch the water with his other hand. The water was cool.

* * *

After a few more days of flying, the bennu never seeming to tire, the group reached the Vesperpool. Trees adapted to the swampland were plentiful at the shallow edges of the lake and the southeastern edge. In the northern most section, where the bennu landed, were old structures carved from stone.

After the bennu landed at the edge of the enormous lake, it lowered its neck to allow its passengers down.

Noctis stumbled as he dropped to the ground, rubbing his sore back before stretched with a groan.

Caligo pointed away and the bennu took off.

“Why are you sending it away?” Noctis asked, staring after the disappearing beast. “How are we supposed to get to the tomb from here?”

“We walk,” Caligo answered with a roll of his eyes. “Now follow us. We can make it to the Myrlwood just before nightfall.”

That must have been the forest Noctis had seen from the bennu. Now it made sense why they had dropped down by the ruins; the bennu wouldn’t have been able to land in the dense grouping of trees.

“Is that where the tomb is? How many tombs are you aware of anyway?”

“Stop asking questions,” Loqi groaned. “You’re not allowed to ask questions.”

“Oh, let’s humor him,” Caligo said with a smile. “What can he do?”

Loqi huffed, crossing his arms as he looked to the side in annoyance.

“We know of six tombs. The one here in the Myrlwood, the one at the Rock of Ravatogh, the two near Keycatrich Trench, the one by the Disk of Cauthess, and the one on Angelgard.”

“You know there are thirteen, right?” Noctis asked with a smirk. “Just going to blindly wander around searching for the remaining seven?”

Caligo snorted. “No, of course not. We have an insider searching the Lucian countryside and mountains and fields for the remaining tombs. He’ll tell us about the ones he finds so we know where they are.”

“You don’t seem too in a hurry to do this.”

“We aren’t,” Loqi growled. “What can you do? Your country is now under our control.”

Noctis narrowed his eyes at Loqi. Before he could say anything, a small peep sounded and out from a bush hopped a small bird with pale yellow feathers.

Small was relative. It was as large as a medium-sized boulder. A blue patch of feathers covered the front of its forehead and it had a tiny blue tail.

Noctis gasped at the bird, kneeling down as it tilted its head side to side. “A chickatrice. Look at how cute it is!”

“Are you crazy?!” Caligo hissed. “If there’s a baby then that means there’s—”

A larger bird burst out from the bushes with an angry squawk, flapping its wings. It looked like an enormous hen hellbent on protecting its chick.

“A basilisk!” Loqi growled, taking out a sword to battle the bird.

Noctis backed away from the chickatrice as it trotted back to its mother. “Well, hey, at least it’s not a cockatrice.”

The basilisk released a shriek and seconds later a rooster beast appeared, glaring at the intruders in its territory.

“Why would you say that?!” Caligo snarled.

“I hate these birds,” Loqi grumbled scowling at the family of birdbeasts. Nothing could ever be easy, could it?

The cockatrice locked eyes with Loqi and squawked, lowering itself and charging at the blond.

Loqi squeaked and bolted from the cockatrice’s attack.

The chickatrice chirped encouragement at its father’s actions, flapping its stubby wings while the basilisk fluffed with pride.

“I really ought to stop this…” Caligo muttered as Loqi barely managed to avoid the cockatrice’s beak as it snapped at his legs. “But this is too funny.”

Noctis burst out laughing as the cockatrice manage to hook its beak in Loqi’s armor before furiously shaking the samurai.

After sufficient shaking, the cockatrice tossed Loqi into the nearby Vesperpool. It then locked onto the two remaining intruders and screeched angrily.

The basilisk and chickatrice screeched in return, wings flapping, as they turned towards Noctis and Caligo.

“H-hey, how am I supposed to defend myself?” Noctis asked as he sidled behind Caligo, ready and willing to use him as a shield.

Caligo grabbed a sword sheathed at his back and held it out to Noctis. “We found this when we raided the citadel.

Noctis gasped as he recognized the blade, slowly taking hold of the handle. “The engine blade…”

The sword had been promised to him by Regis. His first weapon connected to the Armiger, a mystical force linked to the Crystal that allowed Noctis to dematerialize weapons—and somehow his fishing rod—into a space-time rift until Noctis called it back into existence.

The engine blade hummed as its particles bonded with the Armiger, briefly disappearing in a flash of blue light before reappearing.

Noctis grinned at the weapon in his hand before he looked at Caligo. “Why do you trust me? I could stab you in the back and leave Loqi to these feathered birdbrains.”

Caligo glanced at Noctis over his shoulder, eyebrow raised. “Will you truly?”

Yes, a voice said in Noctis’ mind.

He could stab Caligo and leave Loqi to get ripped apart. He could find out where his father was hiding. Solheim wouldn’t get their hands on the Crystal. It would be the easiest solution.

Noctis bit his lip as he glanced away. Giving the Crystal to Solheim would doom the world, he was certain.

Something told him even if Caligo and Loqi were taken care of, Solheim would send in replacements or declare all-out war against Lucis, razing it to the ground. Hard as it was to swallow, cooperating with the two Sols was the toughest solution, but it was one that wouldn’t end in the total destruction of his people.

Mind made up, Noctis looked back at Caligo. His eyes widened as he spotted the cockatrice’s open beak nearly around Caligo’s middle. The samurai had yet to notice the beast ready to snap him in half, the dumbass, so focused on waiting for Noctis’ answer.

“Look out!” Noctis threw his blade toward the cockatrice’s open maw. As the blade’s tip pierced the back of the monster’s throat, Noctis used his connection to the sword to warp straight to it. He gripped the handle tightly, bracing his feet against the cockatrice’s neck and drove the sword deeper until it burst through the back of the cockatrice’s head in a spray of blood.

The cockatrice shrieked at the pain, staggering back, and flapping its wings. Blood coated the feathers on the back of its skull and spread down the front of its chest.

Noctis twisted his sword before taking it out.

As the cockatrice began to shake its head to try and dislodge its attacker, Noctis tossed his sword up into the air, warping after it. Locking onto the beast’s head in midair, Noctis threw the blade straight down, using his weight to ram the sword through the cockatrice’s skull.

Swaying on its feet, the cockatrice released a death rattle before collapsing in a heap of feathers.

Caligo stared at the defeated monster in awe, blinking rapidly. The entire ordeal had to have only lasted several seconds.

Loqi stomped towards them, wringing out his shirt as he muttered vehemently under his breath, fury coursing through him. He halted when he saw the downed cockatrice, staring at it while Noctis awkwardly hopped to the ground. “What?! No way: he killed it? I wanted to kill it!”

“I wasn’t aware you knew how to fight,” Caligo said, looking towards Noctis as the prince wiped his blade on the grass.

Noctis’ eyes turned towards Caligo and the Sol saw the fear in them. So, it had been fight or flight that had forced Noctis into action.

“This is your first kill?” Caligo asked, setting a hand on Noctis’s shoulder to ground him before he went into a panic attack.

Noctis nodded slowly, staring at the faint bloodstains on the engine blade’s metal and the blood that coated his hands.

“They’re just monsters,” Loqi huffed, rolling his eyes at the dramatics. “You’re such a bleeding heart.”

Noctis wasn’t so sure about the assessment as his eyes went to the basilisk and chickatrice.

They were both prodding the cockatrice with their beaks, chirping softly.

Would monsters mourn the loss of their mate?

The basilisk raised its head, furious eyes locking onto the three. It shrieked, leaping at them, clawing the air in an attempt to tear them apart.

Noctis, Caligo and Loqi split to separate sides to avoid the wicked sickles.

The chickatrice charged towards them with a war cry. It wasn’t as much of a threat as its mother, lacking the sharp claws and beak, but it was still formidable.

Caligo swiftly took care of the fledgling, swinging one of his swords out and slicing the chick in half.

As its child crumpled to the ground, the basilisk released a high-pitched scream, stomping the ground as its feathers puffed up and stiffened to blades.

“We pissed off momma,” Loqi growled, grinning at the basilisk’s tantrum as he prepared to launch an attack at the beast.

Charging at the three aggressors, the basilisk flapped its wings and swiped its claws in an attempt to land a hit.

Loqi sidestepped the attack and leaped into the air, plunging both of his swords into the basilisk’s shoulders.

Shrieking, the basilisk bucked to throw Loqi off.

While it was distracted, Caligo launched himself at it, swords piercing its throat. He twisted the swords before yanking them out to either side, severing the basilisk’s head from its shoulders.

As the beast crumpled to the ground, the two samurai wiped their swords on the cockatrice’s feathers.

Caligo stared up at the sky. “We should have landed the bennu closer to the Myrlwood.”

“It’s too dense,” Loqi defended. “And we would have attracted attention.”

Caligo huffed, shaking his head and sheathing his sword. “It will be sunset by the time we reach the Myrlwood. There should be a haven nearby, we can rest there and tackle the tomb in the morning.”

A faint howl sounded on the wind and Loqi clucked his tongue.

“Scavengers. Sounds like voretooth.”

“We’ll have to go into Steyliff Grove then,” Caligo sighed, turning and heading the way they had come. “Follow us.”

Noctis looked towards where the howls had originated before he followed the samurai. “What’s Steyliff Grove?”

“It’s a Solheim structure built nearly two centuries ago,” Caligo explained while Loqi snapped, “Don’t tell him!”

“Wait, you guys _built_ a structure on Lucian soil?”

“It was back before tensions existed. We built it in the Vesperpool because of our relationship with water.”

Noctis’ interest was piqued. Yes, they were his enemies, but he hadn’t learned about the culture of Solheim. “What’s that?”

Loqi scowled, crossing his arms. Caligo could go ahead and blab all their secrets then for all he cared. It was his funeral.

Caligo, however, seemed all too pleased with Noctis’ interest in his ancestors’ history. “You see, fire is a sacred symbol of life in our culture. We pay homage to Ifrit at the Rock of Ravatogh because he is the one who bestowed fire upon man. In contrast, water represents death. We built the grove beneath the Vesperpool to honor and pay tribute to the dead.”

“Wait, it’s _underneath_ the lake?” Noctis asked. “Doesn’t that mean it’s flooded?”

Caligo smiled mysteriously like he had had all the answers to the universe. “You’ll see.”

Noctis huffed, rolling his eyes at the dramatics Caligo was employing.

Steyliff Grove had a stone path leading towards the building enclosed by high walls. Pillars etched with mystical markings marked the sides of the path. Weathered stairs lead to the entrance of the grove and ankle-deep water coated the path. A few small swamp trees, nourished by the water, were beginning to grow close to the walls. Noctis wondered why the water hadn’t drained or if it was seeping up through the marshland.

They ascended the stairs to the door blocking the grove and Noctis tried to open the door. When it didn’t budge, he kicked it. “It’s not opening.”

Caligo shook his head, leaning against the wall, one hand on the handle of his sword. “Of course not. It only opens at sunset.”

Noctis looked at the sky, staring at the sun that was sluggishly sinking beneath the horizon. “Why sunset?”

“The sun rises and sets with life. It’s appropriate for a tomb dedicated to the dead.”

Noctis stared at the door in front of him, searching for whatever mechanism sealed it until the specified time, fascinated.

There was a hiss and Noctis looked toward the entrance of the tomb, spotting a sahagin standing at the entry, staring at them.

Sahagin were four-legged reptiles with sturdy jaws and a mouth full of sharp teeth. The back of their front legs had sharp fins, allowing for not only vicious attacks but quick swimming. They usually lurked in deep water, waiting to ambush prey.

“Uh, guys?” Noctis backed into the nearest corner.

Caligo and Loqi glanced towards the reptile, but remained calm.

The sahagin continued to stare at them for a bit longer before it swung its head to the right and took off at a fast clip with a low hiss.

Noctis slowly relaxed as the monster left.

“It was attracted by the carcasses,” Loqi said. “We didn’t need to worry.”

“But what if it attacked us?”

It’s three on one. It’s not _that_ stupid.”

Noctis huffed and decided to remain quiet. Obviously, he knew nothing.

As the sun set lower, setting the water flooding the path leading to the temple red, the markings on the door lit up and with a hissing scrape, the door split, opening in different directions.

Darkness and stale air greeted the three and Noctis wrinkled his nose at the smell of mold and damp earth.

“How are we going to see?” Noctis asked, looking at Loqi and Caligo. “We can’t go blind.”

“Oh, that’s no problem.” Caligo tapped the side of the wall and in response, blue light sprang to life, descending deeper into the dungeon.

Noctis saw that the lights were stone chipped into the shape of fire. “How are they glowing?”

“It’s a special rock we Sols discovered. The color comes from the composite of mythril and its bioluminescence comes from sulfur. The two react and create a glowing stone.

They don’t run out of power and a breeze or rain doesn’t extinguish them. We call it a brightstone.”

“Wow…” Noctis breathed before he trotted on ahead to see the rest of Steyliff Grove.

“Hey!” Loqi snapped, taking a step forward.

Caligo held out a hand to stop him. “Leave him alone.”

“Why are you humoring him? We should be going to the tomb right now, not taking a detour to entertain some brat.”  
“Don’t tell me you’re not curious, Loqi.”

Loqi scowled at Caligo as the samurai descended the staircase. “I’m _not_ curious. Not in the least.”

They had a job to complete and Caligo wasn’t taking it seriously.

With an annoyed sigh, Loqi followed after Caligo, going down into the depths of the dungeon.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> meh below 3k but enjoy anyway xD  
> Do I like people feeling sorry for monsters? Yes. Yes I do

A half day’s trek led Ignis, Prompto and Gladiolus to Pullmoor Haven which sat near the shore of the Astor Slough.

While Gladiolus fed the chocobos and Regalia, Prompto stared in awe at the family of wild catoblepas wading in the dark waters of the Slough.

Ignis knelt, taking the bag off Regalia’s back so the spiracorn could rest comfortably, and began to search through the bag. He had bought a multitude of nonperishable food that would survive the trip to the haven. Even though he wished to make something for all of them, it appeared they would be eating behemoth jerky, dried fruit and nuts for dinner. Looking out towards the Slough, Ignis thought about going on a hunt for fresh meat or fishing in the lake for something juicy to eat.

“I can go get some garula meat,” Gladiolus offered, standing beside Ignis.

Ignis started slightly looking up at the samurai. “What?”

“You’re glaring at the supplies,” Gladiolus said, raising an eyebrow with an amused grin. “There’s a herd of garula nearby. I can kill one and bring it back so we can save the jerky and stuff for road snacks.”

Ignis opened his mouth then glanced at Prompto.

The blond had been ignoring him ever since their spat at Hammerhead. Ignis hadn’t tried to strike up a conversation. Prompto would talk when he was ready.

For now, Prompto was searching through his bag, pulling out some sweet grass to feed the chocobos, pretending not to listen.

“I’ll join you,” Ignis said, standing. “There should be some herbs and other ingredients near the Slough.”

“I can handle myself,” Prompto said sharply before Ignis could ask if he would be all right by himself.

Ignis felt the words like an arrow to the heart, but nodded. “All right. We’ll not be long.”

Prompto patted his chocobo, a tawny colored thing named Mocha, not looking at Ignis.

Ignis decided it was best to leave, leaping down from the haven’s edge and making his way to the small herd of garula grazing in the distance.

Gladiolus followed close behind him, not trying to make idle talk. Ignis obviously wasn’t in the mood to talk.

Garula were enormous quadrupeds with thick tusks and long noses used to yank up tough grass. Their brown fur was thick and coarse. Despite their size, garula were gentle and allowed people to walk near them without attacking. Garula formed their herd around a matriarch known as a garulessa.

Larger than their male counterparts with longer fur, garulessa boasted two sets of vicious, curved tusks that could grow upwards of three feet. They could turn violent if their herd were threatened.

It was a relatively small herd with three garula and two garulet. The garulessa stood guard in the center of the herd, head swinging side to side, on the hunt for any threats.

The garulet would give them enough meat for dinner and for the road.

Ignis and Gladiolus knelt behind a boulder downwind from the herd, watching their movements.

“How do you propose we take them down?” Ignis asked, holding the handle of Senshi tightly.

Fighting six of the beasts was asking for trouble. If they could somehow separate one of the garulet from the herd, that would make the battle simpler.

“You know magic, right?” Gladiolus asked, glancing at Ignis. “You could use fire to create a barrier separating the garulet from the rest of the herd.”

“The garulessa will simply charge through the flames.”

“Then skewer it with ice.”

Ignis sighed. “I can only do one. Magic drains my energy rapidly.”

Gladiolus frowned, humming as he planned another way of attack.

“One of us could distract the herd while the other takes care of the garulet,” Ignis suggested. “That could be our best bet.”

“I can distract.” Gladiolus grinned. “Leave it to me.”

“Then I’ll circle around while you carry out the distraction.”

Gladiolus nodded, getting up and running off towards the herd.

Ignis went the other way, making his advance towards one of the garulets that was straying a bit too far from the herd’s protection.

The garulessa had dipped her head briefly to graze, but it snapped up when something struck her enormous tusks.

“Hey, over here!” Gladiolus waved before he threw another rock.

Bellowing a war cry, the garulessa charged towards the samurai. The rest of the garula followed her with one of the garulet tottering after. The other garulet looked up when it heard its family leaving. Squeaking out a small cry, the garulet turned to follow its herd.

Ignis rushed out from his hiding spot, throwing one of his hidden knives at the garulet. The knife buried itself in the beast’s leg, bringing it to the ground.

Before it could even release a call to its mother, Ignis was on top of it, Senshi buried in its skull. He waited until the twitching subsided before jumping to the ground.

The garulet was too heavy to drag back to camp so he would have to skin it and cut out meat in the field before the herd returned.

Just as Ignis was about to begin skinning the garulet, a loud crack shattered the air, startling several birds into flight.

The catoblepas raised its head from the grazing in the Slough, idly chewing on some seaweed, unperturbed by the noise.

Ignis whipped his head towards the sound. It had originated from the haven where Prompto was.

“Prompto!” Ignis bolted back to the haven, Senshi drawn.

When he got to the haven, it didn’t appear any different. The noise had startled Mocha and Regalia into running from the camp while Bitch bristled near the edge.

Prompto sat on the ground, eyes wide in fright.

“Prompto.” Ignis knelt beside Prompto, setting a hand on his shoulder. “Are you all right?”

Prompto slowly nodded. “Y-yeah. I didn’t know…”

Ignis looked towards the center of camp and recognized the gun Cid had in his shop, smoke wafting from its barrel. “Where did you get that?”

“It…it was in my bag, I swear!”

Ignis wasn’t about to blame Prompto for stealing. The Niflheim prince was anything but a thief.

Moving towards Prompto’s bag, Ignis pulled out a small note written in scrawled handwriting.

Hey Prince!

Thought you’d want a weapon since yer going on a journey. This gun has full ammunition in it, but I’m sure you’ll pass by Lestallum on yer way to the Plunge, so I left extra ammunition with Jared. Just ask for him and he’ll know. Good luck!

-Cid

“It appears Cid is the one who gave you the weapon,” Ignis said, glancing at the gun, “for protection.”

“Oh…” Prompto slowly relaxed then sighed. “Man, it made such a scary noise…”

“Thunder in a small weapon…Solheim really is something with their weaponry.”

Prompto stood up, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’ll go find Mocha and Regalia.”

“I’ll join you,” Ignis offered. “It would be better for us to split up so we can find them faster.”

Prompto remained quiet for a bit before he nodded. “All right. I think Mocha ran off towards the Slough and Regalia went into those trees.” Prompto pointed to the small copse of trees nearby. “I’ll find Mocha.”

Ignis held his tongue at the suggestion. He didn’t feel comfortable with Prompto wandering so far from the haven, but he knew if he protested it, Prompto wouldn’t be receptive of it. He let it slide and nodded, heading towards the trees to search for Regalia.

Prompto watched Ignis leave before he cautiously picked up the gun then made his way towards the slough.

By the time they had returned to the haven with the mounts, Gladiolus had returned, a pile of meat by his side.

“Hey, there you are,” he greeted with a grin. “You hear that crazy noise?”

“That was Prompto’s weapon,” Ignis supplied, moving to the meat to begin searching for the best cut.

“Wait, what?” Gladiolus looked at Prompto. “You have a weapon that makes that noise?”

“Cid let me borrow it,” Prompto said. He showed the gun, careful not to touch the trigger. “I didn’t know it was in the bag and set it off.”

“Whoa. Well, ya saved me from the garula, kid. That noise had them scatter faster than a divebombing copperoc.”

“Oh.” Prompto blinked before he rubbed his neck sheepishly. “You’re welcome?”

Ignis had separated the meta into two piles: one to be cooked and one to be smoked for later. He looked at Gladiolus. “Gladiolus, if you wouldn’t mind, can you smoke this pile of meat while I make dinner?”

Gladiolus nodded. “Yeah, no problem.”

“I can help with dinner,” Prompto offered, lowering his head to avoid Ignis’ gaze. “If you want me to.”

“Of course,” Ignis said immediately. “I would be extremely grateful for your help, my lord.”

Prompto smiled then nodded. “I’ll do my best!”

* * *

The roast stew was filling and once the dishes had been cleaned and the roasted meat had been wrapped up, the three fell asleep with full bellies.

Ignis was the first to awaken and he woke the other two. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, fog rising from the still waters of the Slough, as they set out on their way to Lestallum.

The trip was long and by evening, the three had arrived in the bustling city. Off in the distance one could see the meteor jutting out of the ground. Despite the meteor being nearly four days away, the heat radiating from it made its way to the city, creating a sultry air. Even though the sun was setting, the air still felt like it was noon.

Lestallum wasn’t as impressive as Insomnia, but it was impressive in its own way. Rows of stalls lined the streets, each on cooking something different. The spices created an exotic scent that permeated the air.

Cable cars carrying pieces of the meteor traveled above the city to the back where the power plant processed the meteor as energy. Lestallum was the first place in Lucis to use the meteor as a source of heat and light. They were also unique in that women ran the show. They worked in the power plant, they owned businesses, they were soldiers.

The streets were made from bricks as were the buildings. Businesses, homes, and shops were melded into a labyrinth of a city.

“This place is huge!” Prompto gasped as he gazed around Lestallum with huge eyes. “It’s amazing!”

“It’s a nice city,” Ignis admitted, spotting a tack area for chocobo and mesmenir. He began to lead Bitch towards the area. “It’s a little sultry for my tastes.”

“I’ve heard the food here is good,” Gladiolus grunted, leading Regalia to the tack area as well with Prompto and Mocha right behind them. “Maybe we can taste something.”

“I am hungry!” Prompto piped up. “Let’s find a place to eat.”

They didn’t have to go far, finding a small open-air dining place. The owner spotted them approaching and quickly shuffled over to them.

“Welcome! What can I get you today?”

“Can we see a menu?” Gladiolus asked. “We’re travelers, so we don’t know what you sell.”

“Of course, of course.” The owner nodded then shooed the three over to a table and handed them a paper menu. “Take your time.”

The menu was written in neat handwriting with drawings of the food alongside the description of the meal.

“Wow, this all looks so good!” Prompto gushed, kicking his legs as he looked over the menu.

“Very exotic,” Ignis agreed.

A lot of the food was spicy and Ignis wasn’t sure that he wanted hot food in a hot city.

Prompto eventually chose bird-broth rice with curry while Gladiolus picked out the spicy grilled skewers; the meat was made from sahagin which could sometimes be found roaming the nearby river. Ignis chose the simple soup and bread since it wasn’t spicy and it wouldn’t be too heavy.

“So, what should we do after this?” Prompto asked as he shoveled another bite of food in his mouth.

Ignis glanced up at the sky before he hummed. “It’s getting dark. Too dark to continue with the daemons.”

Daemons appeared naturally during the night or in caves. Summoning was also a way for daemons to appear, but it was rare and they were generally reanimated daemons, like the Yojimbo.

“We should rest at the inn for the night,” Gladiolus suggested. “We can continue to the Plunge in the morning.”

Ignis gave a nod. “An acceptable plan.”

“You two seem to be getting along,” Prompto said with a grin. “For being a shinobi and a samurai.”

Ignis and Gladiolus quickly looked away from each other. Prompto chuckled at the reaction. He was happy that Ignis and Gladiolus weren’t at each other’s throats.

* * *

Once they had finished eating and had paid the proprietor the three went to the Leville to check in for the night. To save on gil, Ignis got a room with three beds.

After getting a key to the room they headed to their room only to be stopped by a young boy with brown hair. He wore beige shorts and a red shirt with a striped pattern.

Standing beside the boy was a man in his middle age years with receding white hair and a neatly trimmed moustache. He wore dark brown pants and a green striped vest sat atop a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The man supported himself on a polished walking cane made from Cleigne pine wood.

“You must be Prince Prompto,” the man said with a kind smile. “Cid said you might drop by Lestallum on your way to the Plunge.”

“Are you Jared that Cid spoke of?” Ignis asked.

Jared nodded. “Yes. This is my grandson, Talcott.”

Talcott waved with a grin.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I heard what happened at Insomnia.”

Gladiolus frowned and glanced to the side.

“Here.” Jared held out a box. “Some more ammunition for you gun. Be careful; there’s a limited amount.”

Prompto took the box, opening it to stare at the silver orbs inside curiously.

“I’m sure Cid will attempt to make more,” Jared said. “And I’m sure he’ll send them to me. You ever need more, send a daggerquill and I’ll give them to you.”

“Thank you.” Prompto grinned. “You don’t have to do this.”

“You’ll be bringing back Prince Noctis!” Talcott piped up. “It’s the least we can do, Prince Prompto!”

Prompto chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “We’ll do our best to bring him back as quick as possible.”

They most definitely would, Ignis thought. He knew Prompto would be determined enough to do whatever he wanted.

* * *

To reach the Plunge, it would be an 8-hour walk. To make the most of the hours, Ignis woke Gladiolus and Prompto up just before five in the morning. Only a few people milled about so early in the morning as they went to get their mounts. They followed the road for as long as possible until they reached the bridge that spanned over the river. A waterfall roared into the waters below, creating a mist.

“This is the plunge,” Ignis said, getting down from Bitch. “Looks like we’ll have to go on foot from here.”

“What should we do with them?” Prompto asked, patting Mocha. “Just leave them?”

“They’ll be able to defend themselves,” Gladiolus said. “Don’t worry.”

Prompto hummed, petting Mocha once more before following Gladiolus and Ignis.

A dirt path led to the river. Heavy brush lay on either side of the path, making shortcuts difficult. A flat delta at the river’s bend held a midgardsormr slithering around its territory, tongue flicking out for any sign of threats. There was enough space in the brush for the three to avoid a potentially harrowing battle, squeezing past branches until they reached the path once more.

As they got closer to the waterfall, the spray dampening their clothes and hair, a cave hidden behind the waterfall came into view.

Standing by the entrance to cave was a man with shoulder-length red hair. He wore the clothes of a shinobi though whatever shield had been on the clothes had long since been taken off, a sword strapped to his back. At their approach, he glanced towards them. “Well, hello there. I was beginning to wonder if you would ever come by.”

Ignis held out an arm in front of Prompto as Gladiolus grabbed the handle to Hardedge. “Who are you?”

The man smiled, tilting his head. “A man of no consequence.”


End file.
